The Ties That Bind Us
by AnneRG
Summary: Sequel to 'Happiness After the Storm'. Sirius and Mia keep living their lives together now with the new genaration of kids that goes to Hogwarts, bringing all the possible mischief with them. In Hiatus - to be continued, eventually
1. Returning to Hogwarts

**September 1****st**** 2011**

The morning of the first day of September was, like always, a busy one.

Outside, the sun was shining and there was no wind at all. However, inside the Black Cottage, there was a storm blowing.

"Mum," a teenage girl was calling, "I can't find my wand anywhere. Have you seen it?"

Mia sighed; every single year was the same thing. "Did you check your brother's truck? You always leave it there."

"Thanks, Mum," the girl said.

Someone opened the door behind Mia. "Hi, Mum, I thought you might need some help this morning," Izzy, her oldest daughter, said.

"Thank Merlin," Mia said.

"I'm going to help Liv," Izzy declared. "Damn, I can't believe she's starting Hogwarts today."

"Go ahead, and take your father out of the bathroom. He always locks himself in there, saying that he is shaving," Mia stated.

"More like hiding from all the September 1st drama," Izzy laughed.

"Mandy! Get out of my room! I'm dressing!" Mia heard Evan yelling.

Minutes later, Mandy came to the kitchen.

"Alex doesn't have it and Evan is dressing, so I can't check in his truck," she complained.

"Don't worry, I can summon it later," Mia assured her.

"Thanks," Mandy said, grabbing a cookie.

Mia sighed. Today, her youngest child was starting her first year in Hogwarts. It looked like it was yesterday that Liv was born, so small, so fragile. It was not like they would be separated. Being the DADA and Transfiguration teachers, Sirius and Mia didn't have the problem of being away from their children during the school term.

The twins were sixteen, two years away from leaving the school. Mandy and Alex were their parent's carbon copies. McGonagall kept saying that it would be like having Sirius and Mia walking around the castle as students again if they weren't so mischievous.

Evan, who was twelve, was calmer. He had his father's charm but his mother's responsibility. Everyone said that he looked a lot like his mother, but had his father's black hair. He couldn't be happier with the fact that his little sister and best-friend, Liv, would be joining him in Hogwarts this year. They, along with Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley and Annie Shacklebolt were always together during the holidays.

"You left something in my room, Mandy," Liv declared when she came into the kitchen, with a wand in her hands.

"My wand!" Mandy screamed. "Of course, we were comparing mine with yours yesterday! I'm better put it in my trunk," she said, before getting up.

Liv sit by the table, looking at the window.

"Nervous?" Mia asked her.

"A bit," she answered. Liv was like a mini Lulu when it came to her looks. She had her grandmother's brown hair and pale green eyes. "I basically lived there my whole life, but going as a student is different."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Mia assured her.

"Unbelievable," Izzy was saying in the corridor, "hiding in the bathroom, Dad?"

"I was not hiding, I was shaving!" Sirius said.

"With what? Some kind of Neanderthal device? Nobody takes that long shaving!" she said.

They came into the kitchen to find Mia and Liv laughing.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," they chorused.

More noise was coming from the hallway.

"You two soaked all his underwear in meat. That is so wrong. Funny, but wrong," Evan told his brother and sister.

"He was asking for it!" Alex said.

"Yeah, Remington gave me detention because I was breathing loud, I mean, how the hell does someone breathe loud?" Mandy complained.

"So we had to get him back," Alex finished. "The problem is that he suspects it was us, so either he gets the message and leaves us alone, or he turns our lives into a living hell!"

"You're doomed," Evan declared.

When the twins realized that everyone was listening to that talk, they silently sit by the table and started eating their breakfast.

"Do I want to know anything more about that prank?" Mia asked them minutes later.

"No," they chorused, grinning.

"Okay, I have to go home to check on the kids, I'll see you in the platform," Izzy declared before disapparating.

* * *

One hour later, the Blacks flooed to the Platform 9 ¾, which was, once again, filled with students.

"Look, there is Teddy!" Evan told his little sister, who ran along with him in order to reach their friend.

Sirius and Mia took care of taking the trunks to the train, while their children were talking to their friends.

"Don't even think of getting in that train!" they heard Izzy saying.

"We want to go, mum!" a red-headed boy said.

"Evan says it is so cool!" another red-headed boy, who looked exactly like the other one, told her.

"You still have to wait a few more years, boys," Izzy told them.

"How many?" one of them asked.

"Four," Izzy told them. They looked sad. "Come on, don't give that look. It is one year less than it was last year!"

They smiled with that thought.

"Plus, how would you play with James and Dominique if you were in Hogwarts?" she asked them.

They thought for a minute. "Okay, we'll wait," one of them said and the other nodded.

"Well, well, if it isn't Fred and Danny Weasley," Sirius said.

"Grandpa!" the boys yelled and jumped on him.

"Who wants to take a walk around the platform?" he asked.

"Me!" they chorused and followed their grandfather.

"You really have a way to convince those two of anything," Mia stated. "Are you by any chance stealing my techniques?"

"If you want to steal, steal from the best," Izzy told her.

"Where is Roxy?" Mia asked her.

"With George, he's talking to Wood somewhere," Izzy told her mother.

"Then we'd better rescue her, don't you think? All that quidditch talk…" Mia stated.

Mother and daughter walked through the mob until they found George.

"Don't worry, sweetie, Mummy came to save you," Izzy told her three year-old daughter.

The little girl giggled and reached for her mother's arms.

"Where Freddy and Danny?" Roxy asked.

"They're with Grandpa Sirius," Mia informed her.

"Grandpa!" she said.

"I'm hurt! They always prefer Dad!" Izzy joked.

"Kids love him, that's a fact," Mia told her.

* * *

On the other side of the platform, Teddy was with Harry, Ginny, Evan and Liv.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Ginny asked him.

"Yes, aunt Ginny, everything," Teddy declared, grinning. Harry and Ginny always treated him like he was their own.

"Hey, what took you so long to get here?" he asked Evan and Liv.

"Always the same thing. First Mandy forgets something, then Alex remembers he left his broom behind, and this goes on and on," Evan explained.

"So, Liv, any favourite house?" Harry asked her.

"I'd like Gryffindor, but if I don't get in it is fine," Liv answered.

"That's the correct spirit," he told her.

"The train will leave in ten minutes," Ginny informed them.

"We're better find Mum and Dad," Evan told Liv.

"We're going with you, James is with your father," Harry said.

They found Sirius and Mia talking to Izzy and George.

"Time to say goodbye," Mia murmured.

She hugged Liv and Evan.

"We'll see you tonight, Mum," Liv told her and turned to hug her father.

Mandy and Alex arrived minutes later, said their goodbyes and got in the train with their siblings.

"Well, I guess we should get our things and go to Hogwarts as well," Sirius said.

* * *

Mandy and Alex were sharing a compartment with their old friend, Will Lake, who was also a Gryffindor. He was tall and blonde with hazel eyes.

They were talking about their holidays when a girl opened the compartment's door. She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes. It was Darcy Finnigan, Seamus Finnigan's sister, who happened to be one of Mandy's best-friends.

"And here I was, thinking that I would not have to spend the whole trip with you bugging me," Alex told her.

"The feeling is mutual, Black," she told him.

"What took you so long?" Mandy asked her.

"I fell asleep and almost lost the train," she declared. Alex let out a smirk. "Do you have a problem, Alex?"

"The whole world doesn't spin around you, Darcy," he declared. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Alex and Darcy could barely stand each other. He despised her because she was Miss Perfect, she despised him because he was…him.

Darcy ignored his comment, and turned to Will. "So, Will, I didn't hear from you the whole break. What did you do?"

"I was in Italy with my parents," he told her.

"Italy? Which part?," she asked.

"Milan," he answered.

"I've been there two years ago, it was fantastic," Darcy said.

"I'm going to the bathroom, want to come Darcy?" Mandy asked.

"Okay," she agreed.

They left the compartment.

"When will you and Alex start standing each other?" asked Mandy.

"Hum…never," Darcy declared.

"You two remind me of what my parents told me about their best friends," she said.

"Why? They hated each other?" Darcy asked.

"Yep."

"Did they end up killing each other?"

"No, they got married," Mandy answered, smirking.

* * *

Hours later, Teddy, Evan, Annie, Victoire and Liv were chatting lively.

"We're almost there," Teddy told them.

"Finally," Annie said, "I can't wait to go into the great hall."

"Shouldn't we get dressed?" Victoire asked.

"Right," Evan said, "You can use the compartment, me and Teddy are going to the bathroom."

A while later, they were all dressed and waiting for arriving to the school.

In a matter of minutes, Hogwarts would have the biggest number of Blacks in its history.

**A/N: Here it is, the first chapter of the sequel. I hope you like it. By the way, review, please.**


	2. Sorting and Diricawls

When the train arrived to Hogwarts, the students stepped out of it and went in the horseless carriages.

Darcy was still trying to take back Mandy's hint about a possible romance between her and Alex Black.

"I'd rather rip my eyes out, then ever marry Alex," Darcy declared. "Wait, I'd rather put something sharp through my ear."

"Hum, hum," Mandy said, ignoring her friend.

"You are despicable!" Darcy told her.

"Nope, I am visionary," she declared.

"Oh, I hate you," Darcy said.

"It is natural to hate someone who tells you the truth. It has something to do with denial," explained Mandy.

"Okay, as much as I'd like to be your sister, Alex is not even a chance. I'd go quicker for Evan," Darcy stated.

Mandy turned abruptly, looking horrified. "Don't even joke about that!"

"Why not? He's cute and nice and…"

"Twelve," Mandy added. "I changed his diapers, for Merlin's sake!"

"You are way too young for that," Darcy mentioned. "Just for the record, I was kidding. Evan is like my kid brother."

"I seriously hope so," Mandy said through her teeth.

* * *

Liv, Annie and Victoire had just left their boat and were waiting for Hagrid to guide them to the great hall.

"Hi, girls," someone greeted them.

They tuned to face Jason Wood.

"Jason, where have you been?" Annie asked him.

"I couldn't find you anywhere, I had to share a compartment with some third years," he informed them.

"Oh, poor thing, we won't leave your side now," Liv assured him.

"Follow me fi'st years!" Hagrid told them.

They went after Hagrid, until they reached the Great Hall's door. Mia Black, the Deputy Headmistress, was waiting for them.

"Thank you for bringing them, Hagrid," she told her old friend.

"You are welcome, professor," he said, politely, before entering the Great hall.

She turned to the students. "Welcome to Hogwarts," said Mia. "The banquet will begin in a matter of moments, right after the sorting. As some of you know, this school has four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here, your house will be like your family. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. Your triumphs will earn you points, rule-breaking will make you lose them. The points will be counted by house and to the one with the most points is awarded the House Cup in the end of the year. The sorting will start now, so…good luck."

Mia guided to through the Great-Hall, until they reached the staff-table. She placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. On top of the stool, she put the sorting hat.

Liv looked at the staff-table. It was a lot different than she remembered. Living in Hogwarts gave her the benefit of always knowing the staff.

Last year had brought a lot of changes. Minerva McGonagall was not the headmistress anymore. She decided to retire, but still lived in Hogwarts, in her own quarters, because that school was her home. Flitwick was the new headmaster. Everyone respected him, despite his low height. Hagrid was, like Liv always remembered, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and groundskeeper. Neville Longbottom was now the Herbology teacher, nevertheless, he lived outside the school with his wife, Hannah, and his children. Susan Bones, the head of Hufflepuff house, taught History of Magic. Finally Binns had been sent to a ghost colony, and the classes were a lot more interesting.

The Divination teacher was absent. Firenze only came to the school for his classes as he spent the rest of the time in the forest with the other centaurs. Jack Brennan and his wife Evie Brennan (formerly Shacklebolt) were the youngest teachers in Hogwarts history, being in charge of Arithmacy and Charms at twenty-four years-old. The Remingtons were also still among the staff. Ned was the Potions teacher and head of Slytherin; Barbara occupied the Astronomy position. Madam Hooch kept her flying instructor position through the years. Valera Weasley was the Muggle Studies teacher and head of Ravenclaw. Like Sirius and Mia did, Valera shared her private tower with her husband and children.

Last, but not less important, Mia was the transfiguration teacher and deputy headmistress, while Sirius taught DADA and inherited his wife's former position of Gryffindor's head.

"Black, Olivia," Mia called and Liv returned to the real world.

She sit on the bench and her mother put the hat in her head.

"_Another Black?!" _the hat said. _"I guess it would be cruel to keep you away from your brothers and sister. I feel that you will have a brilliant future in this school. _GRYFFINDOR."

Mandy, Alex and Evan were cheering like mad and welcomed their sister to the table, who sit right next to the last one.

Annie Shacklebolt and Victoire Weasley ended up in Ravenclaw and Jason Wood joined Gryffindor as well.

During the whole banquet, Filch eyed every single student like they were all a menace, holding his seemingly immortal cat, Mrs. Norris.

"First-year Gryffindors! Please follow us to the common room."

Jason and Liv wished goodnight to Annie and Victoire, and followed Darcy and Will, the prefects.

"I guess the Blacks have a new trend, now. All Gryffindors," Mia told her husband.

"Little miss Liv joined the winner house," Sirius said.

"What if she didn't?" Mia asked.

"I'd totally kick her out of our house," he declared, laughing. Mia hit him playfully in the head. "I was kidding!"

"I know," she told him, "but I couldn't resist."

* * *

Harry, Ginny, Izzy and George were meeting in the Leaky Cauldron. The kids were left in their grandparent's care, who were always happy to have them around. Hermione and Ron were not able to go because they were visiting Hermione's parents, who had permanently moved to Australia.

"I seriously pity all the teachers in Hogwarts. First, Mandy and Alex, now, Evan and Liv. They seem a lot calmer than they actually are," Ginny told Izzy.

"I know. A pair of angels when they are by themselves, but when you put those two together…oh boy," Izzy agreed.

"The bright side is that they can consider this as a training," Harry told them. "Four years from now, when Fred, Danny and James step foot in that school, all hell will break loose."

"We're raising beasts," George joked.

"Don't be so dramatic," Hannah Longbottom, who was serving them the drinks, told them. "They always behave when you bring them here."

"That is because we bring them by the end of the afternoon," Izzy explained. "By that time they already exhausted their batteries. By the way, how are the kids?"

"The same as always," Hannah answered. "Frank is fascinated by brooms, Ali plays with her dolls and Helga just started walking. I can't believe she's already one year-old."

"That's great, Hannah," Ginny said before her friend returned to the counter.

"Oh, by the way, Luna sent me a post-card!" Izzy announced.

"Really? Where is she this time?" Harry asked.

"Somewhere in Mauritius. It is a small island in the Indian Ocean, next to Africa. They are looking for some creature with a weird name, wait, let me see." Izzy grabbed her purse and started searching for Luna's note.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" The group turned to see Neville in there.

"It's yours and your wife's pub, we should be the ones asking," George joked.

"Diricawl!" Izzy reads from the post-card. "Luna and Rolf are searching for Diricawls. What on Earth are Diricawls?"

They all shook their heads, meaning that they didn't know.

"You received a letter from Luna?" Neville asked, curious.

"Yeah, she's in Mauritius searching for those Diri-something," Harry told his old-friend.

"So, satisfy our curiosity," George told Neville. "To what house was my dear sister-in-law sorted?"

"Well, you have to understand that what matters is who is behind the house, not the house itself," Neville started. "The poor girl is in Slytherin."

The whole table was silent.

"Oh," was what all they managed to say.

Neville was fighting hard to hold his laugher. "Or not," he finished. He turned to Izzy. "I can't believe you fell in your own act!"

Izzy started to recall her own sorting. How she had told her family and friends that she was in Slytherin, just to get a good laugh. She realized that Neville had just made a bunch of fools out of them.

"Of all the people in the world, Neville Longbottom, I never thought you'd be the one to pull a joke like this one in your own friends!" Izzy stated. "I'm so proud!"

"Joke? What joke?" asked George.

"Liv is not in Slytherin, Neville pulled the same prank on us that I did when I was sorted! She's in Gryffindor!" Izzy stated. "Isn't she?" she inquired Neville.

"Of course Olivia Black is in Gryffindor!" he confirmed. "Where else would she be?"

"What time is it?" Ginny asked.

"Almost eleven," Izzy answered.

"We'd better leave or the kids will not want to leave the wings of their spoiling grandparents," Harry stated.

"Yeah, we're going too," George said.

"It was nice to see you, Neville," Ginny told him. "We'll come back in another night."

"See you then," he stated, before they disapparated to the Burrow.

**A/N: Thanks to your review (four of them), I decided to update today. I seriously hope you liked the chapter and please, review. I repeat, review. It is important for the writers. By the way, I'de like to thank my beta, _Tiger Lily 21_, for always checking my chapters this quick!**


	3. Quidditch and Romance

It was eight in the morning. The first classes of the year were about to start in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In the sixth year girl's dormitory, Mandy Black was finishing dressing. Darcy, her best friend, was nowhere to be seen. Mandy didn't find that fact odd. Darcy usually got up long before she did, in order to finish her homework, which obviously was not the case this time, or to take care of her duties as a prefect.

Only a few people understood her friend's mind. Mandy herself felt sometimes confused by Darcy's way of thinking, but no matter what, she would always be there for her. To everyone, except to her closest friends, Darcy was Miss Perfect. She was an outstanding student and a model prefect, not to mention her stunning beauty. However, her friends knew that what she really wanted was to make her grandparents, who raised her, proud. Her parents died during the second war, leaving her and her brother, Seamus, under the care of her maternal grandparents, Adelle and Thomas Kindheart. Darcy wanted to live up for her family's legacy, putting too much pressure in herself on the way. If it wasn't for Mandy and Will, who kept "pulling her back to the mortal's world", as they said, she would blow up someday. Even Alex, with whom she shared a deep relationship based in despise, had his own way of warning her when she was too caught up with being perfect. She knew that when he'd pick on her like there was no tomorrow, it was time to slow down.

Mandy was brushing her hair when Darcy returned to the dormitory.

"Okay, I already got the timetables, placed the warnings in the board and helped some first years finding the Great Hall," she announced, proudly.

Mandy looked at her friend, and then at the watch in her wrist. "Looks like you set a new record, Darce. The classes will only start in one hour and you already found a way to stuff yourself with chores. Keep going like this and by the end of this year you'll be known as Darcy, the prefectzilla."

"It is not that much," she told her friend. "Anyway, I only came here to get my books before heading for breakfast."

"Wait for me!" Mandy demanded. "I don't want to risk you finding more crap to do in the way there."

"Oh, please stop, I can't stop laughing," Darcy said, sarcastically.

* * *

Liv and Evan were already in the great hall having breakfast when their older brother, Alex and his friend Will arrived.

"Ready for the first day of school?" Alex asked his little sister.

"Would it matter if I said no?" Liv asked back.

"Good point." He turned to Evan. "The Quidditch try outs are tomorrow, Ev, you were always a good seeker. Why don't you come?"

"You'd be a good replacement for Richards," Will stated.

Evan sent them a dubious look. "Are you trying to get a good laugh by watching my humiliation in the quidditch pitch?"

"The only way you'd be humiliated, Evan, was by being a lousy player. And in this case that doesn't happen," Alex told his brother sincerely. "I think Liv can confirm it."

Evan turned to Liv, waiting for her verdict.

"You're a great seeker, Harry said it himself," she declared.

"Plus, we all know that Izzy received all the I-suck-in-quidditch genes. She plays bad for all of the Blacks," Alex stated. "So, what do you say?"

Evan sighed. "Fine, I am going."

"Great!" Alex said. "Now, if you get in and Livie here joins the team next year, more than a half of it would be Blacks. Me as a beater, Mandy as chaser, Evan as a seeker. Wouldn't it be nice if you turned out to become a Keeper, Liv? We'd all have different positions."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Alex," she started, "but first, I'd rather be a chaser and second, all positions are taken at least until my third year."

"Not all of them," Will stated. "Matthew Watson is leaving the team next year. His parents insist that he should be more concentrated in studying for his NEWT's, rather than in being a Keeper."

"It is one year away, guys, stop bugging me!" Liv told them. She left minutes later with Evan, in order to pay a visit to their grandmother before the classes.

Alex was picking a toast from the plate in front of him when he saw Darcy coming their way.

"Open the way for Miss Perfection, Darcy Finnigan," he said, loud enough for her to hear.

"I hope you choke in your food, Black," she shot at him.

"Where's Mandy?" Will asked.

"She went to the bathroom," Darcy answered.

"Started the day early, didn't you, Finn?" Alex asked Darcy bitterly, calling her by the name he usud as a diminutive of her last name.

"Unlike you, I am a prefect and I have responsibilities," she said.

"That's a cheap excuse. Will is a prefect as well and he does not start the day at half past 6 in the morning," he said.

"How do you know the hour I got up today? And why do you care if I start the day early?" she asked.

"I went to the bathroom and saw you leaving. And it is not you that I care about, Finn. It is Mandy, who gets all upset when you start to break down with the work you put in your own shoulders!" he answered.

"Stop it, you two!" Mandy demanded when she arrived. "No fighting before noon!"

She sat next to Darcy.

"Evan is trying out for the team," Will said, in order to break the tension.

"Really?" Mandy asked.

"Yep, I convinced him with my amazing oratory skills," Alex stated.

Darcy coughed, making a noise that sounded remarkably like 'Big head'.

* * *

Sirius was in his office waiting for the time for the first class to arrive when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened to reveal Mia.

"That tower is so damn quiet, now that Liv is a student," she said, occupying a chair in front of her husband's desk. "I have nothing to do now, it is a free period."

"Well, you were the one who wanted to stop when we reached five kids," Sirius stated, smirking. "If we had seven like I wanted…"

"Shut up, you crazy old man," Mia said.

"I'm not old! I'm only Fifty-one!"

"_Only _fifty one? That is more than half a century," she told him.

"Dumbledore was more than one hundred when he died," he declared. "And if I am old, so are you! We were born on the same day."

"I'm kidding Sirius!" Mia said. "And Molly says that I look like I'm in my late thirties."

"She's lying," he said. "You look like you are barely out of your twenties."

"Well, thank you, honey. You look good as well," Mia said. "Do you ever feel old?" he asked his wife.

"You just said I looked good!"

"No, I mean, do you ever feel like there's gonna be a time when things will pass you by?"

"I'm a genius and a beyond time," he said, with a cocky smile. "Don't worry about that, Mia, you'll see that we will live until after we are 150 years old."

"That is reassuring," Mia told him. "And about the kids, if we had more, they would probably be younger than Freddy and Danny."

Sirius thought for a while. "That would be weird. Five is good enough."

"Finally we reached an agreement. It only took us more that thirty years."

* * *

Right after lunch, the quidditch pitch was filled with almost all the Gryffindor students.

"Evan Black," Nora Hennessey, the quidditch captain, murmured while she read the list of the people who were trying out. "That is your brother, isn't it, Alex?"

"Yep," he confirmed.

The tryouts would start in a few minutes and they were sitting in the benches waiting for the potential players to arrive.

"Well, don't expect me to pick him just because of our…past," she warned her fellow quidditch player.

"Of course not, you will pick him because he is the best," Mandy, who was in Alex's other side, answered.

"We'll see after the try outs," Nora murmured. "We also need a chaser. I have my bets on Teddy Lupin. He seemed decent when he covered for Vivian last year, you know, when she was in the Hospital Wing." She got up and went to talk to Madame Hooch.

Fifteen minutes after the try outs begun, it was clear to the whole team that Mandy was right. Evan would be picked because he was the best for the seeker position. Teddy was the favourite to be selected for chaser.

"Thank you, everyone," Nora said. "We'll inform you later about who was picked."

The team was left alone in the pitch.

"Who agrees in picking Black and Lupin?" the captain asked.

Everyone raised their hands.

"Good. I'll put a note in the checkerboard."

* * *

Around 5 in the afternoon, Mandy was finishing her homework in the common room approached her.

"Nifflers," Alex said when he sat in front of his sister.

"What?" she asked.

"We can use Nifflers in our next prank. Sneak one in the Slytherin common room. I bet they would cry," he explained.

"Okay, we'll plan tomorrow, then," Mandy agreed. "Do you need help to get the Nifflers?"

"Nope, Will and I ran into some when we were coming back from the pitch. We have them in a cage in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom," he explained.

"Speaking of Will, is he going to take part on this one?" she asked.

"If you don't mind…" Alex said.

"Obviously I don't," she declared. "Where is he, by the way?"

"In our dorm," he answered.

"Okay, I'm going there," she said. "Give my stuff to Darcy when she passes by."

Alex raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, it won't kill you to ask her to take my things to the dorm," Mandy uttered and proceeded going upstairs.

She opened the door to find Will giving a letter to his owl, who immediately flew away. He smiled when he saw her.

"I was sending my sister an owl," he explained.

Mandy nodded and walked closer to him, kissing him passionately when she reached him.

"I don't think Alex would be happy knowing that we were snogging in his dorm, Mandy," he stated when they broke the kiss.

"Alex doesn't mind, as long as we don't do it in front of him," she told him.

"He can't complain, we've been following that rule religiously," Will told her.

"Exactly," she agreed. "Want to take a walk outside?"

"Why not?"

They passed the common room and informed Alex, who was entertained flirting with a girl, that they were going outside, receiving a nod in return.

The couple sat in the transfiguration courtyard, which was not very crowded. Will was sitting and Mandy laid her head in his lap. They kept talking, and laughing from time to time.

Mia, who was leaving her classroom after her last class of the day, smiled when she saw them. Will Lake was the twin's friend since their first day of school. She had not been surprised when Mandy told her that they were dating. Sirius was a bit unsure but he eventually accepter the couple. They reminded Mia of herself and her current husband when they were in school, always cheerful when they were together.

She proceeded to the tower, that couple inspired her to relive the old times with Sirius.

**A/N: I was hiding this one in my sleeve. Mandy and Will are together. In case you are wondering, they were already together when the year begun, they just preferred not to desplay their afection in front of the others. Review, people! I need feed back to keep me happy and I need to be happy to write.**


	4. Messy Times

As months passed, the school went on regularly. The time for the exams arrived sooner then any of the students wished.

Liv was in the library reading her charms book and Evan's notes from the previous year in order to study for the exam. Victoire, Annie and Jason were also there revising the things they learned that year.

"Can anyone tell me who had the idea of creating exams?" Jason asked.

"I don't know, but it is not my favourite person at the time," Victoire murmured.

"Come on, don't be babies! Exams are needed to know if we understood what we were taught," Annie said, receiving looks from her friend. "Oh, who am I kidding? Exams suck."

"Amen to that," Liv said. She closed her books. "I'm done with studying today!"

"Quiet, Miss Black," the librarian said.

"Sorry Madame Pince," Liv whispered.

"Let's get out of here," Victoire suggested and they all agreed.

When they left the library, they ran into Teddy Lupin.

"Hey, weren't you studying?" he asked.

"We needed to leave the library," Annie told him. "Freaky place."

"It was a lot worse before. I think Madame Pince turned a lot softer after she got married to Filch last year. Still, they make a scary couple," Teddy told them.

"Scary is being soft. I'd hate to be their kid," Jason said. "That would surely traumatize anyone."

"A complete nightmare. Well, I'm going to borrow a book. See you later," Teddy mentioned before leaving.

The group proceeded to their respective dormitories in order to leave their things in there and agreed to meet in the entrance hall for a walk around the grounds.

* * *

Izzy was in her house, reading a magazine when she heard a noise coming from upstairs. She immediately got up and went there.

She opened the twin's bedroom door and found them playing with the construction blocks that they had received from Arthur in the previous Christmas.

"What did you blow up this time?" she asked them in a bored tone.

"We didn't blow anything up!" Fred said, faking an offended expression.

"So what noise was that?" she asked.

"We dunno," Danny told her. "Maybe it was Roxy."

"Roxy?" Izzy asked confused. Her daughter was supposed to be taking a nap in her bed. "Okay, I'm going to check."

She walked to the opposite door and the twins, who were curious to see what happened, followed her.

They got in the room to find something really odd going on.

"What on earth?" Izzy said.

"Cool!" chorused the twins.

The room was filled with toys that seemed to be flying. Roxy was sitting in her bed, giggling.

"Mummy, look! Flying toys!" the little girl told her mother, pointing at a flying doll right above her. Her bright blue eyes, her father's eyes, were shinning even more than normal.

"How did you do it, sis?" Danny asked his sister excited.

"Yeah, we want to do it too!" Fred supplied.

"Honey, it is your first sign of magic!" Izzy told her daughter with a huge smile in her face.

"Magic!" Roxy chorused.

"Come play with us, Rox," Fred said and Danny nodded.

"Oh, so now you are not too advanced to play with your little sister," Izzy told them.

"We did not know she was this cool," Danny stated. "Come on Rox, let's go!"

She jumped out of her bed and followed her big brothers to their room. Her long brown hair was all messy because of the pillow but Izzy thought Roxy was too happy to be disturbed by that. She followed the children in order to suggest they took their toys downstairs and played in there. That little display of accidental magic just made her day.

* * *

Days later, the exams had passed and all the school was relieved.

Mandy and Darcy were in their dorm. Darcy was packing as they were leaving for their summer break in the following day, while Mandy was laying in the bed, talking to her.

"You should really find a guy, Darcy, live your life while you are young," Mandy told her friend. "Do you know Walter Harris from Hufflepuff? He's kind of cute, you know? Not that I care, because a have a boyfriend, a very good boyfriend."

"I know Walter Harris is cute," Darcy said. "And I am sure his girlfriend agrees."

"Wait, he has a girlfriend?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, Nora Hennessey," she told her.

"Wait, our house's Quidditch captain?" Darcy nodded. "Oh, I didn't know. She and Alex _knew_ each other very well, if you understand me."

"She was doing him. Poor girl…" she said.

Mandy ignored Darcy's last comment. "Hogwarts is a big sea. It's plenty of fish for you to catch."

"I'm not interested in dating, Mandy," Darcy stated.

"Bullshit, you're afraid of getting attached," Mandy declared.

"Don't worry about me, Mandy. By the way, shouldn't you be packing?"

"I can do it tomorrow morning," she said.

"Someday, your low organizational skilsl will bite you in the ass," Darcy warned her.

"Oh, did Darcy Finnigan just used a vulgar expression?" Mandy asked, amazed.

"Shut up."

"We're rubbing it in you!"

"You're dreaming it," Darcy told her.

"You are becoming a simple mortal being," she sang.

"Dreamer!" Darcy called her, before leaving the dorm frustrated.

* * *

Next morning, like Darcy predicted, Mandy's lack o organization caused problems.

When Darcy left the dorm by half past six in the morning to do her last chores of the year, Mandy was still sleeping. It would be cruel to wake her up that early. But when she returned to the room minutes before ten in the morning and found her friend still sleeping, she panicked.

"Amanda Margaret Black! Wake up right now! You have one hour to pack everything!" Darcy shouted.

Mandy jumped out of her bed. "What?"

"It is almost ten! Go pack!" Darcy ordered her.

Mandy opened her trunk and started to throw things in there. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"I thought you had set the alarm clock!" Darcy answered. "This is the part when I say 'I told you so!'"

"Shut up and help me!"

* * *

In the middle of June, one month and a half after the school year finished in Hogwarts, George Weasley arrived home to find the magical locks changed.

"What the hell?" he murmured. He knocked on the door, but nobody answered. "Izzy? Izzy? Are you there?"

He heard noises in the house and a window opened.

"Leave now, before I hex you!" she yelled through the window.

"What's wrong? Where are the kids?" he asked.

"The kids are with your mother, now piss off!" she told him.

"Why are you so mad?" he insisted.

"I am mad because you do not know the meaning of 'last'!" she told him.

"What?!"

"Remember when I told you that Roxy would be our last kid? Guess what? You knocked me up again!" she shouted.

"Really? We are going to have another baby?" he asked smiling.

"Yes, now leave! You always manage to get me pregnant when you're around," Izzy said.

"I recall you also being in there when the kid was conceived. Please, let me in, I'll change the diapers at night in the first six months! I promise!"

She shut the window and closed the curtains. George waited for a while, until she finally opened the door.

"Make it a year and we have a deal," she told him.

"Whatever you want, honey," he agreed.

He approached her and she hit him playfully in the chest. "Hyper-fertile jackass."

"You love it," he said. "I know you do."

"Get in, before I kick you out again."

He followed her inside.

"So, with the twins you threw plates at me, with Roxy you petrified me and left me like that for hours, now, you lock me outside. What will you do next time I get you pregnant?" he asked her.

"There won't be a next time," she stated. "But if there is, one of your favourite body parts will be moved to a jar."

He gulped. "You would not do that," he stated.

"Never underestimate the mind of a hormonal pregnant woman."

**A/N: Here it is, another chapter of "The Ties that bind us". In the next one, I will skip several months, so get ready. I'd like to state how desapointed I am! I only received two reviews in the last chapter (by the way, thank you, reviewers)! Please, it is not that difficult to leave a review. Give me your feedback.**

**Several readers said that with all the kids, the story might get confusing, so here is a list of the names and ages in the first chapter of this fiction(some of them did not appear yet.)**

**By Sirius and Mia:**

**Izzy 29**

**Alex 16**

**Mandy 16**

**Evan 12**

**Liv 11**

**By Bill and Fleur:**

**Victoire 11**

**Dominique 7 (PS: Dominique is a girl, someone asked me the gender before)**

**Louis 1**

**By Charlie and Valera:**

**Nicholas (Nicky) 10**

**Helen 5**

**By Percy and Audrey:**

**Molly 8**

**By George and Izzy:**

**Fred 7**

**Daniel (Danny) 7**

**Roxanne (Roxy) 3**

**By Ron and Hermione:**

**Rose 5**

**Hugo 3**

**By Harry and Ginny:**

**James 7**

**Albus 5**

**Lily 3**

**By Neville a****nd Hannah:**

**Frank 8**

**Alice (Ali) 7**

**Helga 1**

**By Monica and Derek:**

**Adam 5**

**David 3**

**By Lee and Verity:**

**Angela (Angie) 6**


	5. Christmas Ball

**Five months after the chapter "Messy Times"**

A long time had passed since Izzy announced that she was having another baby.

Around September, Headmaster Flitwick suggested that a Christmas ball was thrown for the students. A party committee, with students from all the houses, was created in order to plan the dance and Mandy Black was its leader, having been chosen by the new head students, Darcy and Will.

It was the afternoon of the last day of school before the Christmas Break. All the students had been dismissed from their afternoon classes, in order to prepare for the ball.

The great hall was fully decorated; the committee and the head students were simply checking if everything was done. It looked like they were in a giant igloo. There were charmed snowflakes flying around and everything looked like it was made of ice, even the round tables that were set around an empty space, which would be a dance-floor.

"Everything looks set in here," Alex told his sister. He had joined the committee because Mandy kept bugging him until he did it.

"Then double-check," Darcy told him. "We want this ball to be perfect."

"Like all in your life," he mumbled.

"Why don't you…" she started.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop it," Mandy interrupted Darcy. "Everything looks fine Darce, We should tell everyone that they can leave. I'll double-check myself."

"I'll help you, sis," Alex said.

"I'm staying too," Will declared and Darcy nodded, saying she was helping as well.

Darcy walked to the place where the rest of the committee was staying.

"…because she's in a high place, she must think that no one would find her dirty little secret," she heard a Slytherin girl telling another girl from her house. Darcy froze inside. Were they talking about her? Apart from her, only one person knew what she had been hiding in the last months.

"Er…feel free to go and get ready for the ball," she told them. "We all thank you for the help, without you, I am sure everything would not end up this well."

After they left, it was time to corner the potential traitor.

Mandy and Will were checking the stage. She almost ran in Alex's direction and dragged him to a discreet corner.

"Did you tell that Slytherin chic, Phyllis, about you-know-what?" she asked him, with a tone of accusation in her voice.

"Of course I didn't, I promised I wouldn't," he said. "Believe it or not, Finn, I always keep my promises, even if it affects you. I said I would not tell, and I didn't!" he stated bitterly.

"She was talking about someone in a high place who was keeping a secret," she told him.

"Well, I didn't tell anyone, not even Mandy and Will. Plus, she was probably talking about Quinn Gerard, one of their prefects. I heard pretty hard stuff about her."

"Okay," Darcy murmured. "Remember, not a word."

"Fine!"

* * *

Two hours later, Mandy and Darcy were getting ready in their dorm. Nora and their other roommates were already in the common room with their dates.

Mandy was obviously going with Will, while both Darcy and Alex were dateless. Poor Will once suggested that they should go together, receiving a bunch of not-so-nice answers in return.

It was decided that the students should take formal muggle clothes to the Ball, instead of the highly uncomfortable dress-robes.

"Will you hurry, Darcy, my boyfriend is waiting for me!" Mandy yelled.

"It is just a minute," she told her.

Mandy was wearing a simple dark blue dress with elbow-length sleeves. Darcy, on the other hand, had a strapless brown dress.

"How do I look?" Darcy asked.

"Great," Mandy said. "Pity you do not have a date."

"I don't need one," she said.

"My stupid brother could take any girl he wanted, still, he does not want to take anyone. Must be afraid the other girls would get jealous," Mandy joked.

When they arrived to the common room, it was filled with students.

"Don't you look nice, ladies?" Will said. "Are you ready to go? Alex is waiting for us right outside the portrait"

"Lead the way, Mr. Lake," Mandy told him.

* * *

By midnight, everyone was enjoying the ball. Several couples were dancing in the middle of the Great Hall, Sirius and Mia among them. Mandy and Will joined the dance as well, minutes later.

Darcy, on the other hand, had found another entertainment. Someone had sneaked fire-whisky in the party and spiked a few bowls of punch. However, instead of finding the authors of that infraction, the head-girl decided to 'try the product'. And again. And again. And again. Luckily, none of the teachers or the students noticed Darcy's smashed state, mostly because she spent half the time wandering outside the Great Hall.

Alex didn't know if he should laugh or get worried. She had drunk five or six cups of that stuff, however, she seemed a lot friendlier, like the real Finn.

He went to the Entrance Hall and found her spinning around and laughing with a cup in her hands.

When she saw him, she smiled. "Oh, Alex, what would they think if they found out about the secret?"

"They would think you are human. Despite what you may think, the human condition is not that bad. You might want to put that down," he said, mentioning the cup. "You already had enough for tonight."

She drank the rest of its content and put the cup in an empty table.

"Why are you being this pleasant to me tonight?" she asked.

He laughed. "Well, for starters, you are a lot nicer when you are drunk. Plus, bearing in mind all the stuff you drank, you will probably not remember anything tomorrow."

"I saw Merlin, you know? He was right next to the main staircase, waving at me," she told him, giggling. He never heard her giggle like that before.

"I'm sure you did," Alex said.

She was about to take a step, but almost fell to the floor. Alex immediately hurried to help her staying up.

Mandy and Will showed up in that exact same moment.

"Oh my god, what is wrong with her?" Mandy asked, worried.

"She's completely pissed, that's the problem," he answered.

Will approached Darcy, who was starting to fall asleep in her feet. "Stay awake Darce."

"Hum?" she asked sleepily.

"I'll carry her," Alex said. "We won't keep her awake enough time to have her walking to the dorm."

He lifted her in his arms. "Do you mind illuminating the way?"

"Oh, sure," Will told him. "_Lumus._"

They walked until they reached the head's dorm.

"Do you need help putting her in the bed? I really need to go to the bathroom," Mandy said.

"Don't worry, I'll just leave her in there," he said.

He came in Darcy's room with her half asleep in his arms. He put her in bed and turned to leave, but she held his hand before he could do it.

"Do you need something?" he asked her.

"Hum…I love you, Alex," she mumbled.

He completely froze. Did she just say what he thought she did? "Darcy?". He took his hand of hers in order to shake her awake. She was out cold this time.

"Come on! You can't just fall asleep after saying something like that," he told her sleeping form.

Mandy came into the room. "Is she already asleep?" she asked, receiving a nod in return. "Just leave her there, come play cards with me and Will."

He sighed and followed his sister.

Darcy had just condemned him to a sleepless night.

**A/N: I was kind of bored, so I decided to update eartlier. The chapter is short, I know, but the end... Next chapter will be a flashback, maybe I will post it before friday if you are really nice and send it me at lest three reviews before then.**


	6. Heated Argument

**Three months earlier:**

In the middle of September, the headmaster called the head students to his office in order to inform them of some plans he had for the last night of the first term.

"A dance," he said. "It would be the first since the Yule Ball, which was even before you were born. So, what do you think?"

"I think it is an outstanding idea professor," Darcy approved immediately.

"I agree," Will said.

"I decided to warn you this early because you need time to find a group of students who would help you with the organization, like a Party Committee with representatives from all the four houses in the school. I cannot ask you to lead the planning, as head students you already have too many responsibilities, so feel free to pick someone you trust for that task" Flitwick explained.

"Professor, I don't mind leading the planning, there is no need to find someone else," Darcy guaranteed the head master.

"It is up to you, Miss Finnigan, but personally, I think you should leave that job for other person. It is your NEWT's year and all the head girl duties… You could simply supervise the work," Flitwick insisted. "You should think about this, first. Tell me your decision tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure, Professor," she nodded.

When they were already a few corridors away from Flitwick's office, Will turned to Darcy.

"Are you mad, Darcy? More work?" he asked her.

"This doesn't affect you, Will. I can handle it," she declared.

"Of course it affects me! I am your friend, I worry about you," he told her.

"You don't have to worry, Will. Really. I'm fine," she assured him.

Hours later, Mandy gave her the exact same lecture, but she was firm and wouldn't change her mind.

In the following day, the students were able to go to Hogsmeade. Mandy and Will were on a date, so they left earlier. Darcy was walking to the entrance hall where Filch was registering the students who were leaving to the village, when Alex passed in the opposite direction. He stopped when he saw her.

"Well, well, if it isn't Finn, the Head-girl/Top Student/Leader of the Party Committee," he said bitterly.

"What is your problem?" she asked.

"My problem is how you can prefer being a good suck-up, to being a good friend," he answered and kept walking in the opposite direction to hers.

She turned around a followed him. "Where the hell are you going?! You can't say something like that and just keep walking!"

"I am going to my parent's tower, I left my permission slip in there and they are already in the village," Alex said. "I have nothing more to say."

"Well, I do!" Darcy told him.

"Go ahead, but I am not going to stop walking because of you," he stated, climbing the stairs.

"First, I am not a suck up. I'm doing it because I am capable," she said.

"And you want to show it to the world," Alex interrupted her.

"Wrong, I want to be helpful. And I am not a bad friend," Darcy told him.

"Not being a bad friend doesn't exactly make you a good one," he declared. "You don't listen to them!" He stopped in front of the tower entrance, said the password and resumed walking with Darcy behind him. "Mandy is always worried about you, she always listens to you, and she never let you down!" Alex entered the room and started searching for the paper, finding it in the bedside table. "Sometimes, I wonder if you see her and Will as your friends or as your shrinks."

Darcy's face turned red with rage. "Don't you dare question my friendship with your sister!"

"Then listen to her. If Mandy warns you, if Will warns you, it is because they have a reason. They are trying to tell you that you have limits!"

"I'm fi…" she was not able to finish the statement because, all of the sudden, Alex's lips crushed into hers. She did not know what to do, that was the last thing she thought that would happen.

When they pulled away, she looked at Alex shocked. Before he could talk, it was her turn to kiss him.

They were out of control. Hands were roaming everywhere. The initial mouth to mouth kiss became mouth to neck. While Alex was kissing Darcy, inside her head was going a major discussion.

_This is going too fast,_ one part said.

_It is now or never. I want this,_ the other part stated.

_I'm not ready,_ the first said.

_There is nothing to lose, _the second insisted.

_Except my virginity… It is not like our relationship can get worse…_ the first gave up.

The decision was made, there was no coming back.

Clothes were being removed; marks were left in each other's body.

They just hoped they would not regret it.

--

Izzy was in the store. Hogsmeade weekends were always busy, so she insisted on coming for help, despite George's protests about her condition. She was barely three months along in her pregnancy and her husband was already turning into an overprotective git. She had to promise him she would only do the cashier worn and allow him to drag her to the backroom if she showed any sign of being tired.

She sighed; the bump was already starting to show, at least according to George. Their fourth kid… It was always the last one. After the twins were born she vowed not to have more children. But four years later, Roxanne Isabelle Weasley was born. Izzy swore Roxy was the last one; however, she was pregnant again. _Hopefully, this will actually be the last one, _she thought.

"How is my favourite pregnant granddaughter?" Lulu asked when she came into the store along with Sam, her husband.

"I hope that compliment is directed to me, or dad would be sent to Azkaban again, this time for a real murder," Izzy joked. "I'm great, Lulu. Hi, Sam!"

"Hi, Izzy, how's the baby?" he asked.

"The baby is great. Oh and already know the gender!" she told them.

"What is it? Tell grandma," Lulu said.

"First, you have to promise that you won't tell George, he insists that he doesn't want to know, so I had to promise him I would only tell the gender to the closest people and tell them to shut up," Izzy explained.

"We won't tell," Sam promised.

"It is a girl!" Izzy announced.

"A girl." Lulu repeated. "Will you follow the family tradition this time? Kathleen as the middle name?"

"Er… Partially," Izzy said.

"Partially? How is it possible?" Lulu asked.

"Well, Kathleen will be her first name," she explained.

"Oh… Even better! Kathy, hum?" she said.

"Kath," Izzy corrected. "It sounds better."

"Knowing Luce like I do, she'll call her Kathy anyway," Sam stated.

Lulu ignored her husband. "My fourth great-grandchild! Do you have any idea of how old that makes me sound?"

"Pretty old, but age is just a number," Izzy said. "And you are not even seventy."

"Good to know that you think that," she stated. "Where is your husband, by the way, is he exploiting his pregnant wife?"

"Of course not! He went to the Diagon Alley store in order to get more products."

"What about your parents? Shouldn't they already be here," Sam asked.

"You know them; they probably are taking a walk and got distracted. Alex, on the other hand, was supposed to come here before ten to get something he asked for a prank. It is almost half past ten and no sign of him," Izzy said.

"I saw him before we left. He forgot the permission slip in the tower and was going to get it. He probably got busy in there," Lulu declared

--

Both Darcy and Alex were in the bed, next to each other and looking at the ceiling. Their clothes were all over the room and they were breathing rather heavily.

Alex was fighting hard not to hold her, not to kiss her. He knew her better than she thought, he knew she didn't want to get attached, she would run if he tried to get closer. But it hurt to fight against that need of getting closer, because what they just did made him realise that he loved her. At least, part of her.

Alex always saw Darcy like a mix of two completely different characters. The first time he saw Darcy, it was in Flourish and Blots. He was there with Mandy and his parents in order to get their schoolbooks. Darcy was with her older brother, Seamus. The first impression he had of her was that she was a kind and funny girl. They got along very well that day. She was far from perfect, her clumsiness was pretty clear; she even threw a pill of books to the floor after tripping. And coldness was not a word that could describe her. She and her brother kept telling jokes and laughing. She and Mandy immediately became best friends. However, in the first day of school he noticed she was different, she was not being herself, and the warm and clumsy Darcy was replaced by a cold and perfect one. So, he started to pick on her. He hated the new Darcy; he wanted the old one back.

It was the old Darcy that he loved. And the connection they shared minutes before made him realize that she was still there.

Darcy was also dealing with a dilemma, what they shared was amazing but she could not get attached, she could not bear getting hurt. But ending it completely was not something she wanted.

"So," he started, "That was…"

"A huge mistake," she finished for him. That did not surprise Alex.

"We should do this more often," she said. That one shocked him. "Everyone needs it once in a while. What do you say?"

"Okay," he agreed. It was more than nothing. "If you want it…"

"But we can't tell anyone," she interrupted him. "Not even Mandy and Will." _What would they think? What would everyone think?_ she thought.

"Sure," he said.

"Well, I have to go to Hogsmeade, I am having lunch with Mandy and talk about girl stuff," she told him.

"Yeah, I have to meet Izzy in the store. Actually, I am late," Alex stated.

She picked her clothes from the floor and dressed them and he did the same.

"Okay, so, see you later," she said, before leaving.

He sighed and left the room seconds later.

--

Later that afternoon, Mandy was walking with Darcy to the common room.

"You're behaving quite oddly today, Darce. What happened?" asked Mandy.

"Nothing happened, Mandy," she lied. "I'm just thinking about the dance. I need to discuss something with Will."

Mandy knew that was not the reason but decided not to insist.

"Oh, he's probably in the common room," she told her friend.

They arrived in there in a matter of minutes, but Will was nowhere to be seen.

--

Back in the seventh year boys' dormitory, Alex was saying goodbye to Will, after they spent most part of the afternoon talking about Quidditch.

While Will descended the stairs in order to go talk to the girls, he stood there watching them.

"If you don't mind, Will," he head Darcy saying, "I'd like to propose that Mandy became the leader of the Party Committee."

"Wait, so you decided that won't take that place?" Will asked her, receiving a nod in return. "I agree, Mandy should be the leader. Do you accept?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Of course I do," she said. "But why did you change your mind?"

"Something made me realize that maybe I was not being such a good friend as I thought," Darcy answered. "Friendship is supposed to work in both sides and by not listening to you, I was not letting it work in my side."

"I glad you decided to delegate, we don't want an even more stressed Darcy among us," Mandy joked.

"I am not that stressed," she said. When she looked up, she saw Alex in top of the staircase, looking at her. Before he went back to the dorm, their looks crossed for a moment and he gave her a small smile.

Back in the dorm, he jumped in his bed. "Well done, Finn," he murmured to himself.

**A/N: Surprised? Well, leave a review. Remember, I will only update when I get at least three reviews.**


	7. Getting Things Straight

**Present time:**

Darcy was lying on the couch with a terrible headache. She had woken up still wearing the dress she used in the previous night so after a shower, she changed to he pyjamas.

"Hangover is a bitch, isn't it?" Mandy asked when she arrived to the Head's dorm. "Where's Will?"

"Bedroom," she answered, unable to say anything more than that. "Sobering potion?"

"Alex went to get it from Lulu. Apparently, he wants you to owe him a favour," Mandy said and entered her boyfriend's room.

The minutes that passed before Alex arrived with the potion, seemed like months in Darcy's mind. She felt like her head had been hit by the Hogwarts Express.

"Here you go, Finn, one sobering potion for you," Alex told her, grinning.

"Take that smile of your face!" she demanded. "You are enjoying my pain!" She looked at the potion. "What does this thing have?"

"Chocolate milkshake," he lied.

She shruged her shoulders and drank it.

"This surely does not taste like chocolate milkshake," she stated, making a disgusted face.

Mandy and Will got out of his room.

"We're off to breakfast. Are you coming?" Mandy asked.

"I think we'll stay. Finn looks like she can barely stand and I can't lose this perfect opportunity to make fun of her pain," Alex answered.

They nodded and left the dorm. Alex and Darcy were finally alone.

"So, Finn, do you remember anything about last night?" Alex asked.

"Last night is a like a shadow to me. Why? Did I do something embarrassing?" she asked.

"You did several embarrassing things, Finn. Yet, only I, Mandy and Will got to see them. Don't worry, your reputation is intact," he assured her. "Still, when I was putting you in your bed you said something."

Her eyes darted to him. "What?"

"You said you loved me," he told her. Her face took a desperate look and she was about to talk when he interrupted her. "There are no take backs on this, Finn. Now, it is my turn to talk. After I'm done, you can say whatever you want, agreed?"

Darcy sighed and nodded.

"Okay, for starters, I never hated you, Finn," he declared. "I know we kept telling that we despised each other, but that was not true, at least not to me. It was not you that I hated, that I still hate, it is who you have been trying to become. You don't need to be the top student, the head-girl, the extraordinary prefect. You don't need it all to be perfect. The only thing you needed to be perfect was the one you kept trying to push away. You just needed to be yourself, because the real Finn is perfect, no matter how many defects she has. The conclusion of all this is that I hated the perfect Darcy Finnigan, who doesn't actually exist, because she had been trying to destroy Finn. And guess what. I love Finn."

Darcy's face was shocked. She was not expecting that declaration at all.

"Last night," Alex continued, "I knew that Finn was there. It is difficult to pretend to be someone that you are not when you are drunk. And she said she loved me. She was free, she was sincere, and she wanted to live, unlike the perfect Darcy Finnigan. Darcy is contained, she doesn't speak her heart, and she is stoic. All of this because she is afraid. I know what happened to you. Mandy didn't tell me, but I heard you telling her. I know you saw your parents die and I know what that made you. You created the perfect Darcy. The stoic one. You refuse to get attached because you can't l m bear loosing someone else. But you did get attached, to your family, to Mandy and later to Will as well. Mandy had to make you get attached to her, you didn't want to, but she succeeded. Eventually, she also made you grow into Will. The thing is, part of you does not want to get attached to me, that part is Darcy, the stoic. But tomorrow, I realized that Finn does. Now, it is up to you to choose. Do you want to be Darcy or do you want to be Finn?"

She couldn't think. He read her. He simply did. In that single conversation he summarized the way her head worked, something that she couldn't do herself. He understood her mind and explained it to herself. And it all converged in that simple question. Darcy or Finn? Stoic or free?

"Can I talk now?" she asked.

"Sure," he told her.

She sighed. "I didn't despise you either. Since day one, I could not get you out of my head. I had to fight it, so I tried to hate you. People say that hate is the closest thing to love that exists. I didn't want to love you, so hate was my best chance. You picking on me helped me sending the message that I hated you, even though I didn't. There were times when I couldn't stand you, that's a fact. I didn't want to get attached, you're right, I still am a bit afraid of it, but the lack of ties seems less crucial now. This 'hate' was even more difficult to keep after we…you know. I didn't regret losing my virginity with you, even though we were not in any kind of relationship, not even an actual friendship. Still, I had to keep the cool. After we slept together I did not want to let you go, but 'the stoic one' kicked in and the only way to half-satisfy both was that 'no-strings-attached' thing, making it sound like a physical thing. You don't imagine how many times I kicked myself inside for that. Calling a physical thing to what we shared was like a sin. Because giving yourself to the person you actually love, is so much better."

They stood silent for a while, simply looking at each other.

"That sounded a lot like Finn," Alex stated, breaking the silence.

"I am Finn. What did you expect? It is difficult to pretend to be someone that you are not when you are having a hangover," she declared with a shaky voice.

Ales took a few steps ahead and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head in his shoulder.

"So that's it? No more perfect Darcy?" he asked.

"Well, I plan on keeping my grades up and I can't really give up the head girl position, but I think I can still do that with a more relaxed mind," she told him.

"I'll help you in that," he assured her. "As your legitimate boyfriend, of course."

Hearing that, she took her head of his shoulder and looked at him in the eyes, those infatuating grey eyes. And then, for the first time, they kissed with all the feeling that was inside them. Finally they were able to show how much they loved each other just in a kiss. Darcy's body shivered starting in her toes and ending in the tips of her hair. A wave of heat was filling them.

Their foreheads touched when that passionate kiss was over.

"I'm sorry," Darcy laughed nervously, "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Let's put you in bed then," he told her, kindly. "I want my girlfriend fresh and shiny."

He took her hand and walked with her to her room. She laid in bed and he turned to leave.

"Don't go," she asked him, not letting got of his hand.

"Finn, it would be extremely uncomfortable if Mandy and Will found us in the same bed before we could tell them that we are a couple," Alex said.

Darcy took her wand from the bedside table and waved it in the door's direction, locking it.

"They will assume I am sleeping," she told him.

Smiling, he took off his jacket and joined her in the bed, wrapping his arms around her.

They quickly fell asleep together.

--

Around noon, Mandy was starting to wonder where Alex was. Darcy was probably asleep, with all the drinks she had last night… But she didn't see Alex since that morning, when she left him with her friend.

Several students had already left the school, in order to spend Christmas at home with their families.

Mandy was in the Entrance Hall with Will when her parents approached her.

"Where's Alex?" Sirius asked his daughter.

"I wish I knew," she said.

"He's better not skip lunch," Mia said. "He already missed breakfast."

"Wait, he didn't show up after I left?" Mandy asked.

"No, that is why we were asking you if you seen him," Sirius explained.

"No offence, bit if you asked me, he must be caught up flirting with some girl," Will said.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mandy agreed.

"Well, I hope she was worth missing breakfast," Sirius said with a smirk. "What about you, Mandy? How did the ball treat you?"

"Very well, thank you," she answered, smiling. She was aware that her father had seen her, Alex and Will taking a very drunk Darcy to her room.

"No pre-marital sex?" he asked.

She pretended to be embarrassed. "Oops, dad, my bad," she joked. "But I swear you'll like the _guys_."

--

It was already half past noon when Alex woke up in an unfamiliar room. It took him a couple of seconds to remember what happened.

He found Darcy sleeping against his chest. They could not miss lunch or everybody would start to worry.

He kissed his girlfriend's hair softly. "It's time to wake up, Finn. We have to go to lunch."

She stirred. "Can't we skip it?" she asked sleepily.

"We already skipped breakfast, we need to eat something. Plus, everyone would start to worry," he said.

She sighed and got up, leaving him alone in the bed. Darcy was still wearing her pyjamas so she went to her wardrobe in order to find some Muggle clothes to wear. She found a pair of jeans and a pale yellow sweater. Darcy rarely used these clothes outside, preferring a more formal style, however, it was time to change.

After she removed her pyjama tops, Alex showed up behind her and hugged from the back.

"How's your head?" he asked.

"Better," she told him. "You should go find Mandy; she must be worrying about you."

"We have to tell them," he stated.

"I know. How do you think they will react?"

"Surprised, but I trust that they will accept, we'll tell when we find them," Alex declared. He kissed her neck. "I'm better get going."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you."

"I love you too, Finn," he told her and kissed her softly. "See you a while."

Darcy smiled right after he left. _Thank Merlin I got drunk,_ she thought.

--

Alex was descending the main staircase when he found his twin sister wit his best mate.

"Let, me guess, you were with a girl," Mandy said.

"Yep," he told her.

Mandy shook her head in disbelief. "And here I was, worrying about you when you were spending the whole morning snogging a girl."

"I didn't spend the whole morning _snogging _a girl," he said.

"Still, you could have warned us," Mandy said. "I was worried."

"Sorry, sis," he apologized. "Next time I'll warn. Promise"

They kept talking until Darcy arrived.

"Hi again," she greeted them.

Mandy looked surprised at her friend, who was smiling widely and wearing very casual clothes. "You look…relaxed."

"Thanks, I am relaxed," she declared. "Can we go somewhere more private?"

"Sure. What's wrong?" Will asked.

"Nothing, I just need to talk to you."

They found an empty classroom and went in there.

"First of all, I wanted to thank you for taking care of me yesterday," Darcy said sincerely.

"It was no big deal," Mandy said and the others nodded.

"Yes, it was. If it wasn't for you, I would have been utterly humiliated," she said. "But what I really wanted to tell you is not only about me," she told them, looking at Alex.

He walked next to her. "It has to do with me as well," he stated.

"Oh, boy," Will murmured.

"They are together in something," Mandy finished.

Will and Mandy were staring at them like they were about to announce the world's end.

"We're dating," Darcy said.

With that, her best-friends burst out laughing.

"Merlin, I was starting to worry," Will stated. "After all this was just a joke."

"I assure you this is NOT a joke," Alex insisted.

"Yeah, right," Mandy said, not believing her brother.

"We're not kidding Mandy, I was the one he spent the morning with," Darcy said.

Will raised an eyebrow. "You trained really hard for this prank."

Alex sighed frustrated. He turned to Darcy. "I didn't want to do it this way, but well…" He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her passionately. She responded the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

That was enough for Mandy to realize that they were not lying. "Oh my god," was all she could murmur.

"They are not kidding," said Will.

They broke the kiss and looked their friends.

"I can't believe this," Mandy said. "You two are actually dating!"

"We just got together this morning," Alex told her.

"I hope that both of you know what you are doing," she stated.

"We're following our hearts," Darcy said. "I love Alex, I'm not afraid of saying it anymore. I love him and I am going to change. From now on, Darcy the perfect is gone. The real Darcy is coming out!"

Will and Mandy were staring at her completely shocked. "Why didn't you get together sooner? It would have spared us of several lectures made by her!" Will mockingly accused Alex.

"Shut up," Alex answered. "I'm starving, let's eat!" With that, he followed Will to the Great Hall.

Mandy was still numbed by all that conversation.

"You should start thinking of following a divination career," Darcy told her.

"Why?"

"Don't you remember when last year you hinted that Alex and I would get together? Looks like your prediction came true," she explained.

"I was just joking!" Mandy declared.

"I know, but it did come true. I want you to know that I really love you brother, more than anything in the world. I could never hurt him intentionally," Darcy promised.

"I trust you, Darce," Mandy said. "It is incredible how much you changed in one single night! It's seems like getting pissed caused you brain damage. Not that it is bad."

"Well, thank you. I love to know that my best friend would be happy if I had brain damage," Darcy told her sarcastically.

--

Mia was in the staff table talking to her god-daughter and co-worker Evie Brennan, her best-friend Liz's daughter when she noticed Will and Alex coming into the Great Hall.

She turned to her husband, who was discussing something with Hagrid. "Look who's finally shown up."

"Want to bet there was a girl involved in his disappearance?" Sirius suggested.

"I don't make bets that I am sure I'll lose," Mia declared. "He used to be so cute when he was a baby. I actually thought he would not become a womanizer."

"We, the Blacks, always have that phase," he stated. "However, its length depends on the person. Mine lasted five years; uncle Alphard's lasted his whole life; Regulus had it for a month or two in his third year. Let's pray he does not turn out to be like the old man."

Nevertheless, they did not have to pray that long. Right after lunch, they saw Alex holding Darcy's hand and kissing her, for the other students' shock.

"Shut. Up." Sirius murmured.

"They can barely breathe the same air, still, they are kissing," Mia whispered to her husband.

"This is Lily and James all over again," he stated.

"Except that with Lily and James we were already expecting it to happen," Mia settled.

"Darcy Finnigan…who would imagine?"

"Not me, that's for sure," she said.

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Mandy asked, coming from behind them. "I thought they were joking when they told me."

"She's somewhat different, isn't she? Calmer," Mia asked her daughter.

"Surely less formal," Mandy stated. "He's changing her…for better."

"Our prayers were answered, Mia! Alex is not another uncle Alphard," Sirius teased.

**A/N: Love is in the air, isn**'**t? Well, I managed to post the chapter today, even though it is my birthday. Next chapter will tike a little longer, and I want four reviews before posting it. I repeat, review!**


	8. Bad Memories

One day had passed by since Darcy and Alex announced their relationship to their friends. When they were sitting together in the Gryffindor table during breakfast, they could feel everyone else looking at them. Even Mandy and Will were finding it hard to believe that they were a couple.

Liv and Evan had spent the previous day and night in Lulu's house, so they were oblivious to the fact that their brother and the Head Girl were together. Because of that, they got a major shock when they saw Alex and Darcy leaving the Great Hall, holding hands and talking lively.

"They are together," Mandy informed them when she saw their shocked faces. "I'm as shocked as you are."

"Together as in a couple?" he asked and his sister nodded. "But…when?" Evan asked.

"Yesterday. Still if you asked me, I'd say that something happened before," Mandy told him. "As odd as it is to see them together, they seem happy. As long as they stay like that, I'm all for them."

"They make such a cute pair," Liv said, smiling.

"Today, she woke up later than me," Mandy said. "As I recall, she only did it once before in our third year because she had the flu."

"She seems pretty healthy to me," Liv stated.

"It is like she is receiving a shock therapy, and I can't complain about the results," Mandy declared.

--

In the last Sunday before Christmas, it was tradition in Izzy and George's house to decorate the Christmas tree.

Fred, Danny and Roxy were sitting on the floor looking at the tree.

"It is huge!" Fred said.

"It has the same size as the tree we had last year," Izzy told her son, before going to the basement in order to get a box with decorations. She lifted it from the floor, but before she could take one step, her husband showed up.

"Hey, hey, put that down!" George ordered her and took the box from her. "Pregnant women should not lift heavy things."

"Okay, first, that is not heavy. Second, wasn't it enough to kick me out of the store?" Izzy told him.

"Don't start again," he pleaded.

Ignoring him, she continued. "My healer said that I could work until I reached the eighth month. I'm only a little over six." She took the box back from his arms. "_I _will carry this one."

George sighed, defeated. "Fine, but when you reach the eighth, you will behave and stay in bed."

"I must certainly won't. If you try to make me stay in bed, I will have my dad beating the crap out of you," she said and returned to the living room.

He gulped. He knew he was kind of over protective when his wife was pregnant, but he could not help it. George was also sure that if Izzy asked him, Sirius would curse him like he had never been before. _Maybe I should talk to Dad,_ George thought. The man survived to his wife's six pregnancies; maybe he could teach his son some handy tricks.

When he returned to the living room, Izzy was sitting on the couch with the kids, waiting for him.

"What took you so long? These three are anxious to decorate the tree," she said.

"I was just thinking," he said.

"About what?" Izzy asked.

_A way to survive a very hormonal you, _he thought. "Quidditch, I saw my old broom in there," he lied. It would not be very wise to tell her the truth.

About two hours later, the whole house was decorated with Christmas ornaments and the kids were napping because that little decorating adventure left them exhausted.

Izzy was with George finishing cleaning up the mess that was left in the room.

"Wow, it looks like Santa Claus threw up in here," someone said from the room's doorway.

Izzy turned to see her old friends Monica and Derek staring at her.

"Mon! Derek! What are you doing here? I thought that you still were in New Zealand," she said, after she got up and hugged them both at the same time.

"I finished that job earlier and Monica's sabbatical break is also about to end, so we decided to come back in time for Christmas," Derek told her.

"I'm sorry we missed your birthday last week, Izz," Monica apologized.

"Don't mention it," Izzy said. "I'm fine with it as long you don't repeat it next year. Oh, and I won't let you two escape without having dinner with us."

"Where are the boys?" George asked.

"My mom kidnapped them for tonight; she says she has the right to spoil Adam and Davey rotten after eight long months without seeing them. I'm sure they won't complain about that," Derek explained. "Which reminds me…You are huge, Izzy."

Izzy made an outraged expression and covered her swollen stomach with her arms. "You're always a charmer, Derek. That is exactly what a pregnant woman aches to hear," she told him, sarcastically.

"Yeah, he's such a frustrating jerk! When I was pregnant with Davey, he kept asking if I was sure that I was not having twins, because I was way too big to have a single pregnancy," Monica told her friend.

"Mine is an overprotective git. Want to switch?" Izzy said.

"Never in the world."

"Neither would I," Izzy agreed.

--

Alex and Mandy were playing chess together until she saw a lightening through the window.

"Oh no!" she murmured.

"What?" he asked. "I didn't know you were afraid of thunderstorms."

"I am not," she stated, with a serious look in her face.

"Then why are you worried?" Alex asked his sister.

She sighed. "It is Darcy. I'm better go check if she is alright, usually I am there and we talk until it is over, but she is alone today. She panics during thunderstorms. It has to with something that happened when she was little."

"Her parents' death," he said. Mandy looked surprised, she did not know that he knew the story. "I heard a conversation between you two a bunch of years ago," he confessed. "You can go to bed, Mands, I'll go there instead."

Mandy nodded. She could see that he was worried, and would only calm down if he handled the problem himself.

--

Darcy was curled in her bed with her eyes closed and her hands covering her ears. The sound of the thunders was echoing in her head, just like that night.

In her head, she was three years old all over again, she was still hiding in that closet, hearing the storm outside and the Muggle's screams in the streets of the village.

_Her father was lying motionless on the floor. __Right after he put her in that closet and told her not to make a noise, a dark cloaked man appeared. She saw a flash of green light through a small space between the closet's doors._

_Her mother was somewhere in the kitchen. Darcy had seen the explosion that killed her while her father held her and ran to the main bedroom in order to hide his little girl. _

_She was so scared; the only thing that comforted her was her mother's smell in the blanket that was covering her. Cinnamon. _

_The enraged roar of the storm was unbearable. Tears were covering her small face. It hurt so much inside. Maybe they were not dead, she wanted to believe that. Her father would get up and hold her in his arms. They would find her mother in the kitchen with nothing more than a few bruises. Their life would come back to normal. But a very loud thunder reminded her of the reality._

"_Mum! Dad! Darcy!" she heard her brother's voice calling._

_She wanted to move, to go see her brother, but the fear was paralyzing her. The storm outside was more enraged than ever._

_Minutes later, she heard footsteps. She sniffed. Almost immediately, her brother opened the closet's door and she jumped in his arms._

"_Shh, it will be alright," he told her with a shaky voice. Behind him, there was a tall man with dark skin. "Kingsley, let my grandparents know that only Darcy survived the attack. I'll be there in a while."_

_Kingsley nodded and disapparated._

"_Mummy and daddy?" she asked him._

"_They are gone, Darcy. I'm sorry," he murmured in her ear._

Since that day, thunderstorms would always make Darcy relive that moment over and over again. Usually, Mandy would be there to calm her down, but not this time.

There was a knock on the door. She didn't say a word, but moments later, it opened to reveal Alex.

He came in and kneeled next to the bed. "Finn, are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded.

He shook his head and brought his hand to her face in order to wipe the tears in her eyes.

"If you are okay, why are you crying?" he asked her. "Do you want me to stay?"

She nodded again, and made some space for him in the bed. He lay next to her and wrapped her in his arms.

In a matter of minutes, the scene of her parent's death disappeared from her mind and was replaced by a sensation of safety. The sound of her boyfriend's heartbeat soothed her like nothing ever did before. The storm outside was nothing more than a background sound, it didn't scare her anymore.

"I'm glad you came," she murmured, breaking the silence. "It feels easier to bear when you are here. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Finn…a lot. I will always be here," he declared. "Now, sleep, we'll talk in the morning."

She shifted her head in his chest and fell asleep, not even noticing the thunders that terrified her before.

What happened all these years ago was just a bad memory, and memories should stay in the past, so people could go on with their lives.

**A/N: No Sirius and Mia on this one. Don't worry, they will appear in the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing. I don't know when I will post next, but I'd like to have 4 revious before I update.**


	9. No More Secrets

After that stormy night, the sun finally rose in the horizon. Outside, the ground was covered in a very thick blanket of snow.

Alex and Darcy were still in bed. He barely slept that night, as he was too busy making sure that she didn't wake up and return to her panicked state. He only fell asleep after the thunderstorm was over, which only happened around three in the morning.

Around nine, he was already awake, staring at his sleeping girlfriend. She looked so peaceful, nothing like last night. It scared him to see how terrified she was, but the way she calmed down when he arrived, the way she said she loved him, that moment made him realize that she was his future.

"Hey," Darcy murmured sleepily in his side.

"Hey, you," he said back.

"I'm sorry for last night," she apologized.

He shook his head. "There is nothing to be sorry for, Finn. I know why you panicked; it was not your fault."

She put her head back in his chest. "I had never felt so safe in my whole life during a storm like I did last night, when you were here."

"Well, I tend to have that effect on people, with my badass reputation and all," he tried to joke.

She laughed and hit him playfully in the chest. "Alex!"

"Sorry, I was just trying to make you smile. I guess I succeeded," he said.

"You surely did," she agreed, smiling. She rolled so she got on top of him, kissing him passionately, with all her heart. He immediately kissed her back. When they broke the kiss, she smiled at him.

"Remember when we agreed that we would wait for the right moment to…you know…again, like if it was the first time?" she asked him.

"Yes," he said.

"As for me, I think this is the right moment," she declared.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Completely sure," Darcy confirmed.

He kissed her softly in the lips and flipped them, so she was behind him. "Let me warn you Finn, this time we won't shag," he told her, receiving a confused look in return, "we'll make love instead."

--

Hours later, in the Gryffindor tower, Mandy was playing chess with Evan while Liv read a book.

"How can you possibly do a checkmate after 10 minutes playing?!" Mandy asked him, outraged.

"I think 'genius' is the correct term," he told his sister. "Plus, you were looking at the door instead of paying attention to the game."

"I really need to talk to Darcy, but she didn't sh…" she could not finish the sentence because Darcy came through the door all of the sudden.

"I guess, I need another chess player," Evan concluded. "Up for a game, Liv?"

She closed the book and got up. "I'll wipe the floor with you, Ev."

"We'll see…"

Mandy joined Darcy by the door.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked, mentioning the previous night's thunderstorm.

"I've never been better," she told her friend with a dreamy smile. "Literally. Can we go to your dorm? I need to tell you something."

Mandy nodded and they went to the seventh year girl's dorm. She sat in her bed but Darcy remained up in her feet.

"Okay, first of all, I'm really sorry I did not tell you this before," Darcy apologized.

"Tell me what?" Mandy asked.

"Me and your brother," she said. "We had sex."

"What!?" Mandy asked. "Don't you think it was a little soon? I mean, it had only been two days since you started dating."

Darcy sighed. "It was not today…I mean, it was, but not for the first time."

Mandy looked at her friend in the eyes. "When?"

"Er…do you remember one day when you went on a date with Will in the morning and then we had lunch and you asked me what was wrong with me, because I was looking odd, and I answered it was nothing? You know, the day I nominated you for the Party committee."

"Yes, it was in September," Mandy said. Then, she realized what Darcy was trying to say. "Wait a minute," she said in an unsympathetic voice, "you lost your virginity _three _months ago to _my brother_ and didn't tell me?!"

Darcy gulped. "Yes. I was afraid of what you'd think! I know it was stupid, we were not dating, damn, we were not even friends! I don't regret having my first time with him; I am just sorry about the circumstances. Plus, I am sure you'd think he used me for one of his quick shags. But it was so much more; we just did not admit it."

"Darce, I am your best friend, you can tell me anything. You need to know that. I would not say it was stupid, at least not to you. And I am sure you'd not let me kick his ass. But that casual shag, it was just once, right?" Darcy shook her head. "Twice?" Mandy noticed her friend's nervousness. "How many times exactly?"

"Seven."

"Seven?!"

"I didn't want to let him go, but I didn't want to admit I loved him," she explained.

Mandy sighed. "The old Darcy was really screwed up."

"The new Darcy is sorry that the old one did not tell her best friend about all of this," she said.

Mandy sighed. "I guess I can't blame the new Darcy for the old one's mistakes."

"Really?"

"You could have kept all of this a secret, you and Alex were the only ones who knew, but instead, you decided to come clean. I forgive you if you promise me that there won't be more secrets between us."

"No more secrets," Darcy repeated.

"Was that jackass I call a brother nice to you? And I don't mean while you were in public," Mandy inquired her.

"Always nice, but not as much as he was today," Darcy told her, dreamily.

"No details please, that is my brother, whom I shared my mother's womb with, you're talking about," Mandy said.

"Got it," she said. "He's really good in bed, though."

"Shut up!"

--

Izzy and the kids were in the Burrow having lunch with Molly Weasley.

"You have to eat, dear, that baby needs food to develop well," Molly said.

"Believe me, Molly, food is something this one does not lack," Izzy answered, pointing at her stomach. "Do you need me to come here earlier on the 24th? With all the people who will come here to spend Christmas Eve, you may need an extra pair of hands."

"Oh, don't worry dear. Ginny, Hermione, Fleur and Valera are coming for help. Your mother and Lulu are coming earlier as well. There will be plenty of people to help, there is no need for you to tire yourself," she told her daughter-in-law.

"Everyone treats me like I am made of glass, especially George," Izzy complained.

"Oh, dear, I've been in that situation several times." She looked at her grandchildren to check if they were paying attention to the conversation, but found them conspiring among themselves. She decided to lower her voice just for a matter of security. "Let me give you some advice, woman to woman. Use George's foundation for being overprotective against himself. Call a strike on something he likes. I'm sure you know what I mean."

"Something he…oh. That's a really good idea," Izzy agreed.

"It worked when I was pregnant with Ron," Molly stated. She got up from the table and went to put the plates on the sink. "Arthur didn't repeat the act during Ginny's; I guess he was quite scarred."

"Let's just hope George falls as well," Izzy said.

"Oh, he will, that is the nature of man," Molly assured her.

"Granny, is there dessert?" Roxy asked.

"Only for good boys and girls. Were you a good girl?" she asked.

Roxy nodded and looked at her mother for reassurance. "I was a good girl, wasn't I mommy?"

Izzy looked at her daughter. She looked so cute with those pigtails in her hair. "Of course you were, honey. However, we can't say the same about Mr. Fred and Mr. Danny," she told her sons.

They looked at her with their most innocent expressions. Those pleading grey eyes would always soften her. "Fine, you can have dessert as long as you behave like angels for the whole week, you hear me?"

"Yes!" they chorused.

Those two might be a couple of hell-raisers, but they would always conquer their mother with their puppy eyed looks. Those eyes, hers and her father's eyes would always bring her softest side. _Why do they have to be so cute?_ She thought. It was really difficult to say 'no' when they put that pleading look.

"Good afternoon, family," Mr. Weasley said when he arrived.

"Grandpa!" all three children yelled at the same time, running to hug their grandfather.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart. Did you have lunch yet?" Molly asked.

"Yes, back in the ministry," he told his wife, while he leaned to kiss Roxy in the cheek and hug both boys. "How are you today, Izzy?" he asked his daughter-in-law.

"The same as yesterday," she said. "So is your grandbaby."

"That is good to know. Has George already given up on that idea of not knowing the baby's gender?" he asked.

"No," she said, laughing. "I just let him be, it is not like it is affecting me."

He turned to his wife. "You won't believe in what I got us for Christmas!"

"What?"

"A singing reindeer!" he said. "I saw it in a Muggle store. It is fascinating! If you open its mouth it sings Christmas Carols."

"Awesome!" the twins chorused.

"Oh, Arthur! More Muggle trash?!" Molly asked.

"It is not trash, Molly, it is technology," he declared. "Do you want to see it kids? It is right outside."

He left the kitchen followed by the three children and Molly sighed. "This one will never change."

Izzy smiled. She hoped George would never change as well.

**A/N: This chapter took me longer to post because I only received the four reviews that I asked today. Thank miketheking, who ended the waiting with his out of the ordinary review. I also wanted to thank my other reviewers. This time, I want five before I update. Stay tuned.**


	10. Christmas pt 1

Christmas Eve arrived and the whole castle shone with the festivity's decorations.

Mia got up early in order to go help Molly in the Burrow. The Blacks would be spending the day and part of the night in there, so Mia thought it would be nice to help. Darcy would be going as well as her grandparents were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary in a cruise.

She was in the kitchen, packing the cake she had baked with Lulu in the previous night when Sirius came in.

"Good morning my precious wife," he greeted Mia. "Doesn't it feel wonderful to wake up and notice that it is Christmas Eve?"

She turned to him. "Well, aren't we cheerful today?"

"Holiday spirit, love," he told her. "You know what would be nice? You coming back to bed. It is still nine in the morning."

"I'm sorry honey, but I can't. We have to go to the Burrow, remember?" she asked.

He huffed. "Then, what I can I do to please you?"

"You are very gentlemanly this morning," she stated.

"I know. Odd, isn't it?" he asked.

"I could get used to it. Why don't you start by getting dressed while I go wake the kids?" she suggested.

"As you wish, sweetheart," he agreed. "Jeez, you're right. I don't know what's gotten into me to cause all this gallantry."

"Chivalry is not dead, after all," she joked.

Mia left the tower and walked to the Gryffindor common room. She reached the seventh year girls' dorm and came in, in order to wake her daughter.

"Wake up, Mandy, we have to go to the Burrow," she said.

Mandy turned with a very sleepy face. "Can't I sleep one more hour?"

"No. Come on. I'm going to wake Alex now," Mia declared.

That made Mandy wake up completely.

"Er… he's not in the dorm. He spent the night in Will's tower," she said.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Which is also where Darcy sleeps."

"Er… yeah," she said.

"Mandy, you don't need to cover for your brother. I know perfectly well what my son does with his girlfriend. As long as they are careful, I have no problem with it," her mother declared.

"I'm sure they are," Mandy confirmed.

There was an awkward silence. "Do me a favour," Mia told Mandy. "Wake them up for me. I don't think Alex would be comfortable with me waking him and Darcy."

"Sure," Mandy agreed.

"Tell them to be ready by ten. That also applies to you," she warned her daughter.

--

The knocking on the door woke Alex up. Darcy was also moving in his side, so he guessed she had heard the noise as well.

"Get up, you two! Mum wants us ready by ten. You have half an hour," Mandy said through the door.

"We're awake!" he shouted, so his sister would stop the noise.

"Hum, morning," Darcy murmured and he turned to her on the bed and kissed her softly.

"Good morning," he greeted her. "Are you ready to meet my extended family?"

"Do they even know that I am coming?" she asked.

"They know that Mandy's best friend is coming. Still, they are not aware of our relationship," he said.

"Should I be worried?"

"I don't think so," Alex answered.

"Okay, I'm going to get dressed," Darcy got up and went to the wardrobe. "Half these clothes need to go away. Far away."

"Why?"

"They are too…tidy. It looks like I am going to a job interview."

Alex smiled. She used to wear that all the time when she was not in her school uniform…that was before the real Darcy took over.

"Didn't you bring anything to wear today?" she asked him.

"As a matter of fact I did," he told her.

"Then get dressed, you lazy ass!" she demanded.

"Can't I stay here admiring you, Finn?" he pleaded.

"Later," she promised.

--

When the couple exited the room, they found Mandy and Will snogging in the couch.

"Oh, get a room," Alex said. "Like we did."

Mandy and Will broke apart and stared at Darcy and Alex.

"We were just saying goodbye," Mandy said.

"Yeah, I have to leave in a few minutes," Will informed them. "My parents are waiting for me."

"Have a nice Christmas, man," Alex wished his friend.

"Yeah, you too," he told them. Turning to Mandy, he kissed her again. "I'll write tomorrow."

"You'd better!"

After Will left, she turned to the couple. "Mom knows that you have been shagging."

"What?!" Alex asked, in panic.

"Don't worry; she's okay with it, as long as you're careful. Apparently, our parents are not as daft as we picture them," Mandy stated.

"Oh god! How will I be able to look at her?" Darcy asked.

"Like you always do, Darce. She's been our age before," she said.

"Let's just go. The sooner we face it, the sooner it is over," Alex stated.

--

Molly Weasley was with Valera, Ginny and Hermione in the kitchen.

"I think you're cooking too much food for lunch," Hermione told her mother-in-law.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Hermione," Ginny said. "All the Weasley men eat as much as Ron does. In my opinion, it is highly unlike that we have any leftovers."

"She's right, Hermione," Valera said. "I spend a small fortune just to feed Charlie."

"The painful truth is that the Weasley men eat like bears," Molly said.

"And the good part is that they are always fit," Izzy declared when she arrived to the kitchen. "Please, give me something to do; I can't stay in that sofa anymore."

"Feel free to peel the potatoes," Molly said.

"Thank you!" she said.

"Who has arrived so far?" Ginny asked.

"Andromeda, Teddy, Percy… Most of them are coming after lunch," Izzy said.

Suddenly, there was a scream, coming from the sitting room.

Ginny went there to investigate and found Ron extremely pale looking at the spider that Danny, Fred and James had proudly brought inside the house.

"Kids! You're not supposed to bring bugs to the house!" Harry was telling the boys. "Especially spiders, you know that Uncle Ron has a problem with them."

"But it was alone outside. No one should be alone in Christmas Eve," James said.

Ginny decided it was time to step in. "Well, maybe the spider was going to meet her family. But now that you brought her home, she can't find it." Noticing the boys' alarmed expressions, she decided to make a suggestion. "Why don't you put the spider back outside and let her find her family?"

They immediately nodded, grabbed the spider and ran outside.

"Snap out of it, Ron. The spider is gone," Harry told his friend.

"Sometimes, you're pathetic, Ron," Ginny said. "Probably the spiders are more afraid of you than you are of them."

"Shut up, Ginny," Ron told his sister and left the room, still looking pale.

"You handled it quite well," Harry told his wife.

"I know, I am a genius," she said, leaning to kiss him.

"Three kids later and they still have the fire," Sirius said when he arrived.

"You have a remarkable sense of opportunity, don't you, Padfoot?" Harry asked his godfather in a frustrated tone.

"Well, now that you mention it," he said in a cocky tone.

"Leave them alone, Sirius," Mia ordered her husband. "Hey, Harry, Ginny, where is everyone?"

"All over the house," Ginny said. "Maybe you should start in the kitchen."

"Good idea," she said. She grabbed her husband's arm. "You're coming with me."

"Don't I have a say on that?" he asked, while he was being dragged to the kitchen.

"Nope."

Harry and Ginny stood there, grinning and wondering if they would turn out to be like Sirius and Mia in the future. Ginny went back to the kitchen as well.

"Always the same thing. They lead the way and leave us behind," Mandy was complaining. "Oh, hi Harry, I didn't notice you in there."

"Hi Mandy, how is Christmas Break so far?"

"Eventful," she said. He looked confused. "You'll see what I mean later."

Darcy and Alex arrived moments later.

"It's freezing outside," Alex said.

"You forgot to use a warming charm, didn't you?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "How's the Auror department, Harry? Caught a lot of criminals lately?"

"A couple of cons and a few dark lord wannabes. We're thinking of turning to that Muggle cliché in which authority agents spend the whole day eating doughnuts," Harry said, sarcastically. He turned to Darcy. "I don't think we have met personally before. I'm Harry…"

"…Potter," Darcy finished. "Sorry, but basically everyone knows who you are. My name is Darcy Finnigan."

"Right, you're Seamus' sister! He talks a lot about you," Harry told her. "How is he, by the way?"

"Suffering in the hands of his monster-in-law," she joked.

"Poor guy, I already had the displeasure of meeting Lavander's mother," Harry said.

"Good thing we saved Finn from sharing his awful fate, isn't it?" Alex told her.

"I will be eternally grateful," she said.

Alex turned to Harry. "Did I mention that she is my girlfriend?"

"No, you didn't," he stated. "I guess congratulations are in order. Now, excuse me. I have to go make sure that James, Fred and Danny don't bring any more bugs into the house." He dressed his coat and went outside.

Mandy looked at the couple. "Excuse me, but I'm not staying here holding a candle for you two," she told them before turning to the kitchen's direction.

Alex looked mischievously at his girlfriend. "Finally alone. Do you know what would warm me up? A kiss."

"And who would be the one to give you that kiss?" she asked.

"Well, I'd like it to be you," he answered.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. In a matter of moments, the kiss was deepened and that innocent kiss became a full snogging session.

"Holly Merlin's Pants!" they heard someone shouting. They broke the kiss and noticed that Izzy was in the room, looking stunned at them. "This is the world's end. The Apocalypse arrived!"

Alex gulped. He had forgotten to tell Izzy that Darcy and he had gotten together.

"Hi Izzy," he greeted her nervously.

"'Hi Izzy'?! Why the hell are you kissing?" she asked. "I need to sit down," she murmured, before walking to the sofa.

"These days, they snog instead of fighting," Mandy said, arriving from the kitchen after hearing her sister's reaction.

"Mandy!" Darcy said.

"Don't give me that look, I'm not lying."

"We are together now, Izz," Alex informed his sister. "Before you ask, this happened in the morning after the Christmas Ball."

"Couldn't you have told me a little earlier? You know, because I am pregnant and should not receive shocking news like my brother and my sister's best friend, who hate each other, kissing," Izzy told them.

"We never hated each other," Alex said.

"We're sorry for not telling you before, Izzy," Darcy apologised. "You're not the only one to have this kind of reaction. It was quite sudden."

"We were planning to announce this later, but you always seem to show up in the wrong moment," Alex stated.

"Oh, forgive me for wanting to say hi to my siblings," Izzy shot sarcastically. "You are not joking, are you? Because if you are, Alex, I will hurt you. Badly."

"I swear this is not a joke. She's the one," Alex said and Darcy nodded in agreement. "Marauder's word."

"You are not a Marauder, Alex," Izzy stated.

"That's not the point," he told her. "Mandy can confirm."

Izzy looked at her sister. "Do I need to wear a t-shirt saying: 'I confirm that Darcy Finnigan and Alex Black are dating'. It is like the twentieth time I am asked to authenticate that statement."

"Who would ever guess that Darcy Finnigan would turn my brother into an honest guy," Izzy stated. "Well, I'm happy for you two. Now, where are my two youngest siblings?"

"Liv and Evan are outside, playing with Jamie, Fred and Danny," Mandy said.

"Oh, I guess I'll wait for them to come inside, I don't feel like going outside" Izzy murmured. "Now, explain me. How exactly did you two get together?"

"Well, it is complicated," Darcy started.

"What do mean?"

"We liked each other for a long time," Alex stated. "At the ball, Finn got drunk and I had to take her to her bed. When I put her in there, she said she loved and passed out."

"She did what?" Mandy, who was also listening, asked. "You forget to tell me that part."

"It was not one of my most charming moments," Darcy declared.

"Continuing, that declaration gave me courage to confront her in the next day, and we got together," he finished.

"That doesn't seem that complicated," Izzy said.

"Oh, this is the soft-rated part of the story," Mandy stated, receiving dirty looks from her brother and her best-friend. "I'm sure you don't want to know about the rest."

"Yes, I do!" Izzy said. "I'm pregnant, and my husband seems to be dedicated to take all the fun of my life. I need to live through you!"

"Why don't we talk about this later?" Alex suggested. "I really feel like having a snack."

"I suggest you save some space in your stomach, little brother, because tonight we'll have a banquet," Izzy said. "Did I mention that everyone is coming?"

"What do you mean with 'everyone'?" Darcy asked her.

"Let's just say that compared to this, last year's ministry ball will look like a garden party," she declared. "Didn't you see the tent outside?"

"You mean that little thing in the front yard?" Alex asked. "I thought that was a fort for the kids."

"Never judge a tent from what it looks like outside," Izzy told him. "Molly had to borrow half the elves from Hogwarts in order to decorate and work in the party. That should give you a small light about how big tonight's celebration will be."

**A/N: First of all, I'd like to kindly ask you to review. It ia always nice to receive some feedback about ou work, you know? And by the way, no, one review cannot cout as two just because you say so. Next week, you will have the second part of this chapter.**


	11. Christmas pt 2

Darcy, Alex and Mandy were looking incredulously at the crowd that was filling the tent.

"Bloody Hell! Izzy surely was not kidding when she said this was going to be big," Alex stated.

"More like a reunion of the Ministry, the Order and the DA," Mandy told him.

"Not to mention their kids," Darcy completed.

"Well, Finn, I think we can forget the idea of announcing everyone our dating status in a cozy family reunion," he said.

"You can always kiss and let them do the math," suggested Mandy.

Darcy smiled mischievously. "That is a good idea. It would spare us of a lot of frustrations. What do you think, Alex?"

"I agree. Too bad most of them don't know our unfriendly background. I wonder if they'd faint," he said.

--

In the other side of the room, Mia was talking to her old friend Elizabeth, with Roxy and little Lily Potter playing by their side.

"I think that the last time there was such a reunion was in the year Liv was born," Mia stated.

"A long time ago…" she said. "It was right before you found out that Lulu was your mother."

"Hi mom, hi Mia," Evie greeted them, arriving with her four-year-old son, Harper, and Jack.

"Hi, so, how was your day? Eventful?" Elizabeth asked them, leaning to kiss her grandson, who joined Lily and Roxy in the playing. The Brennans usually spent Christmas Eve with Jack's family, which meant Evie also had to face his sister and her eternal rival, Lisa.

"Not much, Lisa was distracted with her new boyfriend," Jack said.

"I wonder how long this one will last," Evie murmured. "What's her record? Two years?"

"Months," Jack corrected her.

"Anyway, she decided to be very bitchy this year," she stated. "A Christmas Miracle. Where's dad?"

"Probably in the same place where Sirius is," Mia said. "After all these years they, along with Arthur, don't give up on trying to fix that bloody motorcycle. I fear the day when they succeed."

"Even the minister has to have a hobby," Jack said.

"You only say that because you want to try the motorcycle as well," Evie told her husband.

"Blame me for liking classics."

"Is that an euphemism for "piece of trash"?" his mother-in-law asked.

He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know why I bother trying to understand women," he looked at his son, who was playing with the two girls. "Enjoy while you can, Harp, they get scary when they grow up!"

--

Darcy was sitting in a sofa with her head on Alex's shoulder when she saw a very familiar face in the room. She immediately jumped away from her boyfriend.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Seamus is here!" she shrieked. "He does not know about us, he'll kill you! He always said he'd kill any boy who dared to even look at me."

"He was kidding, love," Alex assured her.

"Oaky, maybe he won't kill you, but he will make sure he scares you enough to make you want to stay away from me the rest of your life!"

"You'll have to tell him about us eventually, Finn," Alex told her.

She gulped. Her brother was very protective and she knew it. If it was up to him, she'd always stay away from boys. But he surely would not slay the boy she loved, would he?

"Can't we just hint it in our wedding's invitation?" she asked.

He smiled. She was already thinking of marriage.

"That would give him a good reason to kill me," he told her. "Better end this now, don't you think?"

She sighed and nodded. Alex got up and gave her his hand. "Come on, Finn. I'll live."

They walked through the crowd until they reached Seamus, who did not notice them because he was talking to Dean Thomas. Darcy let go of her boyfriend's hair, tapped her brother's shoulder and he turned.

"Deedee!" he said, calling her by the name he always used with her.

"Weren't you supposed to be spending tonight with Lavender's family?" Darcy asked him.

"Change of plans. The torture was delayed for tomorrow. Mrs. Brown was invited to a party in Paris," said Seamus.

"I bet you are so disappointed," she joked.

"It really broke my heart" Seamus said, sarcastically.

"Listen, I need to talk to you."

"Okay," he agreed with a raised eyebrow. He noticed that his little sister looked somewhat different. Maybe that had something to do with what she wanted to tell him.

They walked to the sofa where Darcy was previously sat with Alex.

"You know it is Christmas Eve and everyone is happy. Peace reigns…" she started.

"Go to the point, Darcy."

"I have a boyfriend." She noticed his face shifting to a threatening expression. "Before you even try to talk me out of it, I want you to know that I love him. Don't you dare try to scare him off!"

"Who is the bloke?"

"I'm not saying until you promise me that you'll behave!" Darcy told him. Alex, who was watching them from a certain distance, noticed that his girlfriend looked as threatening as her brother.

"Well, I'm not promising until I check the bloke," Seamus replied.

"Do you think that I am asking you for permission?" Darcy asked him, outraged.

"I want to know if he is good enough for you!" he answered.

"That is my call, Seamus, not yours!" She got up and walked with her back tuned to him.

After watching that scene, Alex realized that Seamus Finnigan would not be easy to please.

--

Darcy was with Mandy and Alex in the Burrow's sitting room.

"Can you believe this? How old does he think I am?" she was asking them.

"Darcy, he's probably just worried about you," Mandy told her.

"Why would he? I mean, does he think that my capacity of discernment is that bad?"

"No, Finn. It's just how big brothers work," Alex explained. "We protect our little siblings, even if it is not that noticeable. I do it myself with Liv and Evan."

"And me," Mandy completed.

"You're different, Mandy. I watch your back and you watch mine. Like a symbiotic thing."

"Still, you protect me," she said.

He grinned and looked back at his girlfriend. "He didn't even have the chance to meet me. He's probably picturing the worst case scenario."

"I know that he does that because he cares, but I can't have him interfering like this," Darcy told him. "Damn! Here I am in Christmas Eve angry with my brother."

"Look," Mandy said. "Why don't I work as an ambassador? I can talk to him and assure him that Alex is good and make him promise that he won't be an ass. Then, I'll bring him here."

Darcy sighed. Her friend's idea could work. "Okay."

"Wish me luck," Mandy said, before leaving.

Alex got up from his sit and occupied the one by his girlfriend's side.

"Put a smile in your face, Finn. It is Christmas Eve," he told her.

She smiled faintly. "Will you leave if he tries to scare you off?"

"Only if you go with me. Do you really think that I will give up after all this time trying to get you?"

She answered him with a kiss. "Just the answer I was hoping for."

"I hope that I am not interrupting anything," someone said in the fireplace. They got up and approached it.

"Grandma!" Darcy shouted. She notices another face. "Grandpa!"

"Hello, sweetheart," Adelle Kindheart greeted her granddaughter.

"How is my dear Darcy?" Thomas Kindheart asked. He turned to Alex. "I don't think we have met."

"Grandma, Grandpa, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Alex Black."

"Alex Black?" Thomas asked calmly. "Why am I not surprised?"

That statement surprised Darcy.

"Hate can't affect us that much, Darcy. You were always stating how unpleasant that young man was. We lived long enough to recognize that as love," Adelle stated. "I suppose the feeling is mutual."

"Yes, ma'am," Alex confirmed nervously.

"Good," she said. Returning her attention to Darcy. "We flooed to wish you a Happy Christmas, dear. I know that your brother is there with you. I heard the Weasleys were planning a big celebration for tonight."

"Yes, he's here," she confirmed, in an upset tone.

"What did he do this time?" Thomas asked.

"Nothing that I can't handle, Grandpa. Thank you for flooing me. I was expecting an owl or something," she said.

"Nonsense, of course we had to talk," he told her. "It is Christmas after all."

"How's the trip going?"

"Charming. We'll arrive to Athens tomorrow," Adelle declared. "We need to go sweetheart. Have a good Christmas. It was lovely to meet you, Alex. Maybe you can join us for dinner someday."

"It would be a pleasure," he told them.

"We'll floo you when we arrive," Thomas told his granddaughter.

After the two elders left the floo, Alex and Darcy sat back on the couch.

"They liked you," Darcy told him.

"I thought they would react like Seamus," said Alex.

"They are amazing. That is why I kept trying to make them proud of me."

"I think they would be proud of you even if you were not perfect," he assured her.

Seamus entered the room.

"Are your intentions with my sister honorable?" he asked right away.

"Absolutely," Alex answered sincerely.

Darcy was glaring at Seamus.

"I was just checking," he said defensively.

"Is he approved?" she asked, sarcastically.

"For now, he is," Seamus said. "But if he hurts you, I'll beat him to a bloody pulp."

Darcy was about to protest, but Alex interrupted her before she could start. "If I hurt her, I'll let you."

Seamus nodded and turned to his sister. "I promise that I'll try not to bother your love-life. It's just that I care too much about you to let you fly away to foreign territories."

Darcy walked to her brother and hugged him. "Alex is not foreign territory, don't worry."

He turned to the door and went back to the party.

"Looks like our relationship has everyone's blessing," Alex told her.

"I think you are forgetting the reaction of several girls in Hogwarts, who almost had a cardiac arrest," Darcy reminded him.

"Who cares?" he asked her, leaning to kiss her when the clock alerted that it was midnight.

"Love you," she murmured against his lips.

"Love you too."

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay. Still, I promised an updatee this week and here it is. This week has been so chaotic, it reminded me of how much I hate group works. Anyway, review please. I only received three reviews last chapter and I was pterry disappointed. **


	12. Crazy Little Family

Months passed and March arrived.

Sirius was in his office talking to Mandy, Alex, Darcy and Will, when Izzy came in, very pregnant.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite firstborn," he told his daughter. "How is life treating you?

"You realize that you have four kids outside waiting for you to lecture them about how important it is to make your homework?" she asked, sitting in the sofa, next to Will.

Sirius sighed, bored. "Why do they bother sending kids to the Head of the House just because they don't do their homework? If only they had blown up a bathroom or something like that…"

"Kids these days…" Alex said. "In our first year, Mandy and I came here every week for pranking the Slytherins…"

"Or the Remingtons," Mandy added.

"Yeah, or the Remingtons. And dad, instead of lecturing us, would help us planning the next strike," he finished.

"That's because you managed to get caught," Izzy said. "Monica, Derek and I made dozens of pranks during our Hogwarts time and never got caught."

"Because I gave you alibis," Sirius reminded her. "Remember when we kidnapped the Slytherins' broomsticks?"

"They started it!" Izzy said. "And you and Remington were also in there, remember. You were the one who was with me during the switch."

"Good times," Sirius stated, grinning.

"When did that happen? I never heard of that broom kidnapping thing," Mandy complained.

"You were like four years old or something," Izzy replied. "I remember that mum was pregnant with Liv at that time."

"Our innocent little Livie," Sirius said.

Darcy started to cough when she heard that.

"Liv innocent?!" she asked. "Are we talking about Olivia Black, the person who, along with Evan and Teddy glued the Slytherins to the Great Hall's benches?"

Sirius's eyes shot opened. "They did that?!"

"Damn right they did," Will confirmed. "Darcy and I let them borrow the Head's common room to plan things."

"There must be something in our genetic code that makes us, the Blacks, be pranksters," Izzy declared. "Merlin save me, all my kids are half-Black, half-Weasley. Worse, half-Weasley twin."

"You'll never get bored, that's for sure," Sirius said.

Darcy sighed. "All of a sudden, I feel a little disappointed. I mean, the only times I came to this office 'till this year was to receive honorific prizes. What a waste."

Sirius looked at his son's girlfriend. "Alex already corrupted you. I'm so proud."

"Thanks, Professor," she said.

Alex put his arm around his girlfriend. "Glad you're happy with my creation."

"I should be lecturing you about something, shouldn't I?" he asked the group.

"Public Displays of affection," Mandy said, smiling. "Ned's courtesy for sending us here."

The door shot open and Mia came in. "There are five kids outside waiting for a lecture, Sirius."

He turned to Izzy. "You said there were four."

"They must have sent one more," she replied.

Sirius looked pleadingly at his wife. "I'll sell you my soul if you start throwing them out of the window."

"Your soul is mine since our sixth year," Mia told him. She looked at the students sitting in the couch. "Shouldn't you be in your potions class?"

"We're being lecture, mum," Alex said.

"Sure you are," she said sarcastically. "Class, now!"

They got up and walked to the door. Alex stopped and kissed his mother in the cheek.

"You look great today," he said.

She smiled. "That's not going to convince me to let you skip classes."

"Can't blame me for trying," he said before following his friends to the hallway and closing the door.

Mia sat next to Izzy in the couch.

"That boy is turning more and more like you every year," she stated. "And I don't mean it physically."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I didn't use to kiss my dear old mother and tell her she was beautiful, so I could get away with anything."

"No, according to what I've heard, you kissed Judy Potter and told her she was beautiful so you could get away with anything," Izzy said. "Bearing in mind that you always said she was more your mother than anyone else, Alex is doing exactly the same."

"Can't blame me for trying," he repeated his son's words.

--

In April 1st, George Weasley received a very good birthday present. Kathleen Amelia Weasley was born, for Izzy's relief, who was two weeks overdue.

_Another __redheaded baby, _Izzy thought looking at her baby daughter, three days after she was born. They had returned home in the previous day.

"She only sleeps," Roxy said, looking at her baby sister, sleeping in her bassinet.

"She's just a baby, honey, she's supposed to sleep a lot," Izzy told the little girl. "You used to sleep a lot as well."

"Fred and Danny too?" Roxy asked.

Izzy thought for a moment. "Yeah, when they were not crying hysterically. I swear those two made the whole house shake. You were not so noisy, but Kath here is really quiet."

"When can I play with her?" Roxy asked.

"In a few months," George said, entering the room with a baby bottle. He lifted Kath from the bassinet and gave it to her. "I swear she looks just like Ginny when she was a baby."

"She's just three days old, George," Izzy stated. "And her eyes are not even in their definitive color yet."

"I bet they'll be brown," he said.

"Like Grandma Mia's and Grandma Molly's" Roxy asked.

"Yeah, Rox, like theirs," George confirmed.

"I'm going to check on the twins downstairs. They are too quiet to be doing a good thing."

She walked to the living room where she heard voices coming from behind the table.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

They jumped when they heard their mother.

She kneeled on the floor, and found her sons surrounding the cat, whose tongue was way longer than normal.

"Please tell me you didn't give Ton-Tongue toffees to the cat," she begged.

They gulped. "Sorry mum."

She shook her head. "Give me the cat so I can fix his tongue."

They handed her the poor animal.

"You two, stop making experiences in pets, or you'll end up hurting them."

"We just wanted to see what happened," Fred said.

"We'll be more careful next time," Danny promised.

Izzy tapped her wand in the animal's tongue and it shrunk to its normal size. She put the cat on the floor and he ran upstairs.

"My crazy little boys," she told them, laughing. "You'll end up blowing the house."

"We're sorry mum," Fred said.

Izzy opened her arms. "Come here."

They ran to their mother and hugged her.

"You're easier to hug, now that you're not fat anymore," Danny stated.

"Oh, thank you," she said sarcastically. "It is always nice to hear compliments like that one. Now, let me make you a proposition. If you two promise that you will behave and stop making experiences like that, I may let you go see Dad and Uncle Lee creating the new product line."

"Really?" they chorused. They always wanted to go see how the products were made, but their mother never let them.

"Really," she confirmed. "But you have to promise that you won't repeat what you saw. Dad and Uncle Lee have experience, but you don't. They may make it look easy, but it is not. I don't want you to get hurt."

"We promise, mum!" Fred said.

"Can James go too?" asked Danny.

"Only if Harry and Ginny let him go," she replied.

"Great!" the boys chorused.

"You're the coolest mum in the world," Fred said, throwing himself around her neck, along with his brother.

"Yeah, make sure you always remember that," she told them.

Minutes later, she joined his husband and daughters. Roxy was, once again, admiring her baby sister in the bassinet.

"You win, the boys can go see you and Lee making the next product line," she told George.

He kissed her in the cheek. "See? It only took me two years to convince you."

"If they come all crazy from there, you're the one who will receive a kick in the butt."

"No, I won't. You love me too much," he told her.

Izzy put her head against his shoulder. That was her beloved crazy little family.

**A/N: Here is the chapter. I am sorry that you had to wait this much, but I am spending some time out of town and only visited this weekend. Please review! Only three last chapter, I was kind of sadened by that. Next chapter will be a little delayed.**


	13. Meet the Family

April arrived and so did the Spring Break.

Liv and Evan were spending the weekend in Liz and Kigsley's house with their friends.

Alex was in his bedroom, getting ready for his dinner with Darcy and her family. Mandy was sitting in his bed, reading a Quidditch magazine.

He was looking at himself in the mirror.

"Do I look respectable in these clothes?" he asked Mandy.

She looked up from her magazine and raised an eyebrow. He was all nervous because of that meeting, changing his clothes more than three times in the last hour. She actually found that situation amusing. "Nope, you look like you want to shag Darcy right in top of the dinning table."

"Oh, crap!" he cursed and turned back to his wardrobe.

Mandy threw the magazine to the floor and got up. She approached him, pulled him away from the wardrobe and closed its doors. "I was kidding Alex! You look fine in this outfit, as well as in the other three. Get over this nervousness; you're acting like a girl!"

"I need to make a good first impression," he told her.

"You already did when you talked to them through the floo. For Merlin's sake, Alex! I've been with Mr. and Mrs. Kindheart millions of times. They very nice people, very likeable. As long as you don't show up wearing leather in a motorcycle or covered in piercings and tattoos, they will certainly like you."

He stood there looking at Mandy. "I am not acting like a girl."

"Okay. Then name ten guys who keep changing their clothes because they are nervous," she dared him.

He grumbled something in return.

"You can't? Pity. Now, get your ass of this room. You need to be there in ten minutes," she told him.

They walked downstairs and found Sirius talking to Mia, who was resting her legs in his lap, in the living room.

"Oh, doesn't he look nervous?" Sirius joked when he saw his son entering the kitchen.

"Do I need to remind you of the way you acted when you met Lulu?" Mia asked her husband.

"I had just been caught sneaking into your room! How did you want me to act?" he replied.

Alex cleared his throat. "I need to ask you two something."

"Okay," Mia agreed.

"Just imagine that I am not your son."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit difficult, 'cause you look just like me."

Mia hit him in the back of the head. "Don't interrupt him. He's nervous enough without you joking."

"As I said, imagine that I am not your son. I am some bloke who's dating your daughter and came over to 'meet the parents'," Alex continued. "What would be your impression of me if you saw me like this?"

Sirius scratched his head. "Before or after I scared you to death?"

"Dad!" Mandy warned him. "Just answer him."

"As for me," Mia started. "I'd think my daughter was really lucky to have such a handsome and, at a first sight, respectable boyfriend."

He turned to his father, expecting for his answer.

"I'd think nobody was ever good enough for my daughter," Sirius told him. "But of all possible guys, you'd be a good candidate."

"See? Even Dad would approve you!" Mandy told him.

"He didn't approve me. He said I was not as bad as the others," Alex stated.

"Shouldn't you get going?" Mia asked him. "Getting there late won't give you any points."

"Right," he agreed. "Whish me luck," Alex told them before disapparating.

"Well, I should get going as well," Mandy said.

"Going where?" inquired Sirius.

"I have a date with Will. I told you this morning, Dad," she replied.

"Oh, right. Be home before midnight," he warned his daughter.

"Two in the morning," she tried.

"Are you insane? One in the morning tops," he stated.

"Deal!" Mandy agreed. "Bye Mum, bye Dad."

After their daughter disapparated, Mia turned to Sirius. "I guess it is just the two of us tonight, honey."

"Yes, the kids deserted us," he stated.

"Let's go out," Mia suggested. "I bet the Leaky Cauldron is very welcoming."

"Hum, I'd like that," he agreed.

--

When Alex arrived to Darcy's house, she was waiting for him outside the door. As soon as she saw him, she ran to him and kissed him passionately, catching him out of guard.

"Wow, good evening to you too, Finn," he said when their lips parted.

"Sorry," Darcy apologized. "I just wanted to give you something nice before I tell you the news."

He gulped. "What bad news?"

"Grandma and Grandpa invited Seamus, Lavander and the kids to join us in dinner," she informed him.

"Oh…that's…"

"Terrible. I love Seamus. He's my brother and all but the guy is a git!" she said.

"He accepted us back in Christmas," Alex reminded her.

"I know he did, but that's Seamus. He can be coarse sometimes," she told him.

"Hey, Black! Stop snogging my sister outside and come in already," they heard him saying from inside the house.

"See what I mean?" she asked him.

They came in together and entered the sitting room. There, a pleasant looking elderly man was reading the newspaper.

"Grandpa, Alex is here," Darcy announced.

The old man folded the paper, put it in a coffee table and approached them.

"It's very nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Thomas Kindheart, Darcy's grandfather."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Kindheart," Alex replied.

"Don't mind my grandson, he's very protective," Mr. Kindheart explained. "And call me Thomas."

They heard footsteps behind them and Seamus showed up coming from upstairs.

"Black," he acknowledged Alex's presence in an indifferent voice.

"Seamus," Alex responded in the same tone.

"Seamus Patrick Finnigan, be nice to our guests," an elderly woman told Seamus. Alex noticed her eyes looked exactly like Darcy's.

"I'm being nice, Grandma," Seamus replied embarrassed.

Mrs. Kindheart shook her head in disbelief before turning to Alex. "We finally meet the boy who 'cured' our Darcy from her 'perfection disease'. I'm Adelle Kindheart."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Kindheart."

"Come on, everyone. To the dinning room," Adelle instructed everyone.

Darcy held his hand in the way there. "You made a good impression," she whispered in his ear.

In the dinning room, a woman was helping two kids sitting, a boy and a girl. Alex assumed she was Lavander Finnigan, formerly Brown, Ron's 'famous' ex-girlfriend.

"Oh, hi Alex. I don't think you remember me," she said. "I'm Lavander. I used to go to Hogwarts when you lived there with you parents."

"Oh, right," he said, not really reminded.

"These two are Connor, he's seven, and Margo, who's four," Darcy introduced the children. "They are Seamus' kids."

"Hi," Alex greeted them.

"Who are you?" Connor asked, glaring at him. Whoever the bloke was, he was way too close to his Auntie Darcy. The kid was just like his Dad.

"He's Alex, my boyfriend," Darcy told her nephew.

"I don't like him," the boy told his father when he entered the room.

"Another one…" Alex murmured.

"Connor! Don't say that!" Lavander warned him. She turned to Alex. "Sometimes this kid is just as dense as his father. Don't bother him."

"He looks nice," little Margo stated.

"Don't judge a book by his cover, Baby," he told his daughter.

"What's wrong with you today?" Darcy asked her brother. "You were okay in Christmas."

"That was before I heard he was Hogwarts' biggest player," Seamus told her.

"Used to be," Darcy corrected him.

"Whatever."

"Seamus Finnigan, stop acting like that with your sister," Mrs. Kindheart told her grandson in a stern voice.

Alex realized it was time for him to say something. "Look, Seamus, I've been with your sister since December. Does she look unhappy to you? 'Cause if I was hitting in every girl in the school I'm sure she would not look this peaceful. I loved your sister since I saw her in _Flourish and Blots_ in the summer before our first year."

"That didn't keep you from gaining the player fame…" Seamus stated.

"I've been acting like I hated him since…ever. It'd not like he would be following everywhere when I treated him like an enemy," Darcy told her brother. "And I was unfair by treating him like that. He didn't do anything to deserve that. I just didn't want to admit that I was head over the hills with him. Now, can we please have dinner in peace?"

"Well said, Sweetheart," Thomas told his granddaughter.

They sat by the table. Alex was by his girlfriend's side. He the heck did they manage to spend eighteen years apart? They made one hell of a team.

"Mommy, is Auntie Darcy having a baby?" Margo innocently asked Lavander in a low voice.

Darcy, who was sitting in her niece's other side heard the question and almost chocked in her water.

"No, Margo! What made you think that?" Lavander inquired her daughter.

"Auntie Parvatti said she was having a baby because she and Uncle Dean loved each other," Margo said. "The love each other to, don't they?"

"Margo, why don't we talk about this later?" Lavander suggested.

Darcy turned to Alex. "This is going well…"

**A/N: I'm really, really sorry it took me so long to update. Unfortunatelly, my grandmother passed away and things have been franctic since then. Long story short, I was caught a really caught up latelly. But here is the chapter. Please review. Once again, I'm sorry for the wait.**


	14. Author's Note

Little announcement here (sorry, I also hate when post an author's note as a chapter):

I'm sorry for not updating for so long. It's been months but college life was harder than I expected and my mind hasn't really been in a writing mood since my grandmother's death.

Anyway, my sister has been writing her own fic (and serving as her beta), which kind of dared me to dedicate myself to writing again.

So, here it is: **I will finish "The ties that bind us", as soon as I get ideas. But in the meanwhile I'm developing a little project that I plan on posting in a few weeks, if it sounds good in my headf.**

It is an alternative universe where Harry is not given to the Dursleys. Instead, Dumbledore leaves him under the care of Mia…

So, how does it sound? I'm still not 100% sure.

Please, give your opinion, it would certainly inspire me…


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